Forgotten
by Kezzer
Summary: Sequel to ‘In these silences, something may rise.’ What has been forgotten is about to be remembered, an enemy of the past has been freed and now is trying to finish what it started twenty years ago. (Update: last chapter added.)
1. Freed

Forgotten 

Part 1

Freed

(Authors note: I do not own or have created any characters in this story APART from William Angelo and Stephen De-joule. This is a sequel to my story 'in these silences, something may rise.' And while not essential I highly recommend you read that story first before moving onto this one… and while your there why not review?)

It is strange how easily the past is forgotten, how soon pain is but a fading memory and events are nothing more then foot notes in the history books. It is the way of the world, in the end we are all lost to the passage of time, only our actions remain as proof we were there. But some things should never be forgotten, those who do not learn from the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them, and a mistake has been repeated. I present to you a clipping from the Citiesville gazette, dated December 12th 2007 (two months after the deaths of the six rowdy ruff boys.)

p.g. 48 

Mayor cuts sentences for long term offenders.

Today our esteemed mayor made yet another attempt to save out city its tax dollars by signing a new bill which goes into effect today. As we all know the city has suffered over recent years after losing the only bridge leading in and out of our city. Since then many business have closed and companies have been moving out of the city to seek better areas. The mayor has tried hundreds of schemes to try and stop this slow decay of Citiesville but so far his success rate has been exceedingly low. But today what has to be the best plan in the recent years was to relive the strain on our over loaded prison. The city has a higher crime rate then New York, Metropolis and Gothem combined and this has lead to the prison capacity been stretched way beyond its capabilities. The new bill will allow prisoners who have impeccable behaviour to automatically be released after serving more then fifteen years in jail. This will allow long term offenders who have 'gone strait.' To be allowed out of prison making room for the new offenders. Whether or not this plan will work is yet to be seen, but in this reporters opinion the mayor is onto a real winner this time.

Citiesville gazette, dated January 3rd 2008

Page 1

Massacre at Citiesville kindergarten!

The entire city is in mourning today after the tragedy at Citiesville kindergarten. The murder of thirty young children and their teacher has sent the city into shock, not only because of the age of the victims but the shear brutality in the crime. The children were found by their parents when they went to collect them, and our hearts go to them after what they must have seen. Reports state that the children had all been killed by having their necks broken; they were then tied to wooden posts around their playground to mimic a scene of play. Some sources even claim that they had their lips cut open to make it appear as if they were smiling.

When questioned Citiesville police refused to comment on the killings in any detail, only to say that they did have a suspect. When asked who this suspect was they once again refused to comment, fortunately an informant with in the police was willing to talk with us. He wishes to remain anonymous so will be only referred to as Mr X.

We first asked Mr X who they thought was responsible for this terrible crime.

Mr X 'We are nearly positive the man responsible is William Angelo, a former inmate of our prison system.' We at the gazette had never heard of William Angelo, even after extensive research we were unable to learn anything of this criminal. When we asked for more details Mr X had this to say.

'In the good old eighties there was only one man to fear, William Angelo the scourge of Townsville. You may have heard the Ministry of Pain was the most feared group in history, but they were nothing to William. I am surprised you don't remember him… (To be honest I had forgotten about him until I worked on this case.) William controlled all crime in the city of Townsville for over three years, he was suspected of crimes ranging from drug trafficking, slavery, murder and possessing deadly weapons. He always seemed to stay clean until 1983, he was arrested for attempted genocide of the human race… heck of a crime wouldn't you say? He has been an inmate of our prison for the past twenty-four years held in a single cell and always bound tightly. Because of these precautions the (expletive removed) was released on good behaviour, and less then a month later he has committed this horrific crime. Don't you just love bureaucracy?'

When we asked how Mr X was so sure that this crime had been committed by William Angelo Mr X told us.

'The teacher, poor man had his head torn clean of his neck, his hand was found clenching onto a rose. This rose has been dyed black and coated in more poisons then I care to think about, if you so much as pricked a finger on a thorn there would be no hope for you. This rose is a mark of William Angelo, it has been found at every crime scene ever thought to have him involved and it cant be copied… no one knows how he makes those things. I am just glad he won't be our problem any more.'

We asked Mr X what he meant by '…won't be our problem any more.'

'Because of what we found in the teachers other hand, a note written in black paint. It has a sort of poem written on it.

"Bye, bye Birdie.

No more Citiesville for me!

So I say you were nice to know,

But I just have got to go.

Look up, look down and I'll tell you something

Look out Townsville William is a coming!"

I would say William Angelo is about to become Townsville's problem once more, wouldn't you?'

More on this story on page 2.

* * *

'Michael Angelo?' Bubbles said. 'I though he was an artist.'

'No Bubbles he said William Angelo, not Michael Angelo!' Buttercup said. She was sitting on the couch flicking through TV stations at a rate so fast it was impossible to tell what was on, but her super eyes let her know. She was hardly interested in the conversation with the Professor, what did she care about what happened in Citiesville?

'Buttercup switch off the TV and pay attention to me, this is a very serious matter.' Professor Utonium said. He had been very patient with Buttercup but she was starting to become a real pain in the backside, he shuddered to think what she would be like as a teenager.

'Fine.' Buttercup said with little interest. She turned the television off and threw the remote to one side with little care for what happened to get in the way. 'Shoot daddy-o.'

'As I was saying, William Angelo may be returning to Townsville.' Professor Utonium said. 'Now if I remember correctly he used to be a very dangerous criminal back in the eighties and…'

'The eighties!' Buttercup shouted. 'You are making me miss perfectly good TV for some old fart from the eighties.'

'I'll remind you I was alive in the eighties Buttercup.' The professor glared at his daughter for a moment before returning his attention to the matter at hand. 'I want you to be aware of every criminal you might face, and William is one of them.'

'Professor we already have to deal with super villain do we really need to worry about this guy?' Blossom asked. The Girls had been forced back to be heroines ever since the great prison fell and crime returned to the city. They had enjoyed a year of peace and quiet and now were beginning to miss that time.

'William Angelo used to be a very competent criminal, I can't remember much about him but I do remember he was very evil and very powerful.' The Professor scratched his chin as he tried to remember William Angelo; it was many years ago but still it seemed odd he could remember so little. Townsville had gone through a very dark period in the eighties and William Angelo had been at the front of it… but the rest was a bank.

'Professor the guy must be in his late fifties by now, I doubt he is much of a threat to us now.' Buttercup moaned. 'What's he going to do to us? Hit us with his walker?' Professor Utonium had held his tongue against Buttercup to long now; it was time to give her a wake up call.

'Young lady if you think William Angelo is not evil enough for you attention then please look at these.' Professor Utonium threw down a brown envelope which he instantly regretted doing. The pictures inside were of the crime scene at Citiesville kindergarten, the full gory scene William Angelo had left for the parents of those poor children.

'What's this then?' Buttercup opened the envelope up and started to pull the photos out.

'Wait Buttercup don't look at them.' But it was too late, and if anything saying that only made Buttercup want to look more. She was greeted by a black and white photograph of a play-yard which at first glance looked normal enough. The children were dotted around playing on the equipment while the teacher stood in the middle watching the whole class. But if you looked closer you could see a much grimmer scene, the children were all dead and tied to wooden posts. The next photo was a close up of one of the children, a young boy with his neck bent slightly too much in the middle and with a smile cut into his face. The cut went from one ear to the other, making the false smile also look like a never ending scream.

'God…' Buttercup managed to say as professor Utonium took the pictures away from her and put them back in the envelope before Blossom or Bubbles could see them.

'Buttercup honey are you all right?' Professor Utonium asked as he noticed Buttercup was going pale, a moment later she flew off the couch and into the bathroom where seconds later you could hear Buttercup retching.

* * *

Him sat in his lair watching the world of crime, tapping his claw on the arm of his chair as he did. The room span with a thousand different images, all of them showing the crime's the Power Puff Girls had stopped since he had escaped from the great prison. He had hoped that they may have been weakened over the years or maybe to heart broken after the boys' death but that was not the case. Blossom had put her sisters into very intense training, both to get their strength up and to take their minds off the fact they had lost three friends.

'**Failures**, they are all a bunch of worthless…' Him said but was cut off when a phone began to ring beside him. 'Strange I don't own a phone like that one.' Him said as he saw a black phone had appeared on the table next to his chair. It was an old fashioned turn dial phone which Brimstone would have recognised if he was alive. Him however could not have known about this phone, not until he saw it was unplugged. There was only one person he knew of that could use such magic in Him's lair.

'Please don't be him…' Him said in a shaking voice as he slowly put his pincer out to pick up the phone. He thought about ignoring it but there was no point, if it was who Him thought it was then there would be no way to escape for long.

'Hello?' Him asked in a quiet voice, steeling himself as best he could for the voice that he had so hated all those years ago.

'My name is Blaine Allgood.' The voice was not the one Him dreaded but that of a normal person, Him felt relief wash through his body.

'Well hello Blaine, and what do I owe for this honour?' Him asked feeling more like his usual demonic self again.

'Shut up, you will talk only when I tell you to do so.' Blaine said in a cool voice, yet there was steel there all right.

'**Listen here Mr Allgood I am the king of evil and I demand respect!**' Him shouted down into the receiver nearly hanging the phone up.

'Speak to me like that again and it will be William you answer to.' The very name was enough to shake Him completely. 'You will address me as Blaine, you do as I say and you will keep quiet unless you wish to talk to Mr Angelo in person.' Blaine never changed his tone of voice; it was like he was a machine and not a man at all.

'I understand Blaine.' Him slumped back into his chair feeling the old fear just waiting to take him once more.

'Very good.' Blaine said as if expected to hear nothing else. 'Mr Angelo is very disappointed in you; he does not like it when friends turn on him like you did. He was very hurt that you played him so cheaply; after all he did for you. But Mr Angelo is a forgiving man, and is willing to give you another chance. His command is for you to go to Cyberdine systems head quarters in Townsville, you are to guard this location with your very life if necessary. You only need to keep it protected for the next four hours, that's all Mr Angelo needs. If in that time anyone not loyal to Mr Angelo so much as gets with in a half a mile of the research lab you are to kill them. Is this understood?'

'Yes I understand… I am to guard Cyberdine systems research labs from everyone for the next four hours.' Him said, his voice sounding weak even to his own ears. 'If anyone gets close I am to kill them.'

'Very good.'

'Is there anything else Blaine?'

'Just remember that if you betray Mr Angelo or fail in this task it his to him you will answer.' Just before the line went dead Blaine said. 'Remember what happened to Tommy Mac'.' Then the phone went dead in more ways then one, it seemed to lose all of his colour and reality. It looked more like a prop in a school play now then an actual phone, a child's play thing and nothing more.

'I remember what happened to him all right.' Him said.

He could see it all again, the office where he had been sitting had long been torn down but he could remember it all right. He had been sitting not far from Tommy Mac', a dead beat who thought himself the worlds best assassin. Tommy had just failed on his latest job for William Angelo and…

* * *

...everyone in the room knew that there was a dead man sitting with them, a breathing dead man.

Tommy had failed three times in a row now, he had been caught on two of the attempts, and this time not only had he failed but had almost slipped up and given evidence against William himself.

'I 'aint worried 'tall guys, the big man he likes me too much.' Tommy said, foolishly believing what he was saying. 'The big man thinks I am the best, told me so himself, laughs at every damn joke I tell!'

'That's nice to know Tommy.' One of the suited men said, Him never bothered to learn their names so thought of this one as "Slick" because of the amount of hair gel he had on.

'Damn strait, the big man said he liked me.' Tommy was still sure he would be fine even after messing up on a monumental scale. 'Loves me like a son he does.'

'That's nice to know Tommy.' This was from one Him thought of as "scar-face." For obvious reasons, it seemed like they were flattering him. Might as well let him enjoy the time before the learning curve hit him at a hundred miles an hour.

'You see that's the difference between you and me.' Tommy now turned his attention to Him, putting his arm around his shoulder like he was a good friend. Anyone else would have lost their arm for this, but William would want this one in mint condition to deal with himself.

'Oh and what difference is that?' Him asked in indulgent tone of voice.

'You he hates my friend.' Him flinched a little at this, just a little mind you. 'He sees you as a pretender, second rate knock off my friend. In me, he sees the genuine article.'

'Oh really?' Him asked and got a series of emphatic nods from Tommy who slapped him on the back.

'Tommy Mac' its time, William will see you now.' The blind secretary said, her blind eyes just staring off into the horizon. She was always enough to truly creep Him out, she never seemed to be given any information or do anything… but she knew everything.

'Well boys time for me to go say my "beg your pardons" to the big man.' Tommy gave the group the double finger click which Him hated so much. 'Be back in a New York second.' Tommy then went to the large doors and started to open them; if the fool had any sense at all he would have never come here in the first place. If Him had been in Tommy's shoes he would have fled to the deepest, darkest hole in the universe and stayed there until doomsday. But even then William would have found him in a few minutes, and he would just be angrier then before.

'There goes one stupid man.' Scar-face said as the big doors closed with Tommy on the other side. He was now alone with William Angelo, and no one in the room could imagine a worse fate.

'I say he calls us in there in three hours to clean up the mess.' Slick said to Scar-face.

'I don't know, guy messed up pretty bad I think he will twist in the wind for at least five hours.' Scar-face said. 'What do you think?' He asked Him who had said nothing since Tommy had departed them.

'I think you two will be cleaning Tommy off the walls sometime tomorrow morning.' Him knew William was far more evil then he was, and had been known to torture people for hours for even the smallest thing. He had even killed people for no reason other then the fact he felt like doing it.

'That's bad.' Slick said after giving an impressed little whistle.

'Mr Bijou, Mr Armstrong.' The blind woman spoke up, once again she seemed to be given no signal Him could see. 'Mr Angelo wishes you to arrange transport for big Tommy Mac' please. He will need to be taken to a suitable location.'

'He's done with him all ready?' This was from someone who Him just called "the pallid little thing." Who only talked in the rarest of occasions, in some vain attempt to seem mysterious.

'He is very nearly done Mr Phillips.' As soon as the blind woman had said this there was a terrible scream from inside the office. Him jumped from his seat along with the rest of the men and women in the office, all but the blind one. The scream was filled with pain and fear, something so primal it touched every one of them. Then overlapping with the scream was a sound they all knew. The laughter of William Angelo, laughter that sounded like it came from a rotting corpse that tried to laugh in its grave.

'Good God.' Him was not sure who said that, but it was a pointless phrase, there was no God in this building unless you counted the laughing one.

'Come on we better hurry.' Slick said as he grabbed the arm of Scar-face and ran for the door to William's office. They had been asked to do something, it was a good idea to get it done right away.

'Why hasn't he stopped?' "The pallid little thing" said under his breath. Him was also curious as to why Tommy had not stopped screaming, if William was done with him then surly he should be dead. Him got his answer when Slick and Scar-face came out dragging the still living and still screaming Tommy Mac'. The man was just screeching like he was on fire, but there seemed to be nothing wrong with him at all.

'He is alive?' Him thought out loud and then saw the truly horrific nature of Tommy's punishment. William had not killed him, he was going to let him live a long life no doubt… a long life in which to scream.

'Mr Angelo will see you now Him.' The blind woman behind the desk said, and it was the one thing Him did not want to hear. William was still laughing and, even though he was been dragged down the corridors, Tommy was still screaming.

* * *

Tommy kept screaming for a very long time, he was still screaming ten years later without ever stopping. The two boys, Slick and Scar-face, had put him in a mental hospital and as far as Him knew he was still there screaming just as loudly as when he left that office.

'**William Angelo**.' Him said in his demonic voice as he stood up ready to teleport himself to Cyberdine systems HQ. There was no way he was going to end up like Tommy Mac', not if he could help it.

* * *

'I am not too young.' Bubbles muttered as she flew over the city looking for any signs of crime. She was still bitter about the fact the Professor refused to show her the photographs and Buttercup would not say anything about them. She might be the cutest of the group, but that did not mean she was not just as tough as them. What could possibly be so bad in a photo that she could not see it?

'I'm just as old as Buttercup so I should get to do the same things as she does.' She had kept her mouth shut when she was at home, apart from a few whines (which did her maturity case no good at all.) but now she was alone she could complain all she wanted.

The patrol was almost over now, soon she would regroup with her sisters and they could go home and have dinner. All she had left was to make a fly over the industrial district and then her job would be done. Bubbles was still thinking about the mysterious photographs when she noticed it had suddenly become very dark.

'What's going on?' Bubbles said as she looked at her watch which said it was only three in the afternoon. 'This is weird, I better call Blossom.' Bubbles pushed a button on the side of her watch and started to speak into it. These watches were made by the Professor so that they could always keep in contact, and also to be used as tracers if ever the need should arise.

'Blossom its Bubbles I was flying around and I think I might have found something a little bit suspicious.' Bubbles gave a suitably long pause for Blossom to respond in and got nothing but static back. 'Blossom?' There was still nothing coming from the watch but the constant hiss of static.

'It's no good little Bubbles, she can't hear you. Nobody can.' Him said.

* * *

'It's been over ten minutes now.' Blossom said tapping her watch. 'Bubbles should be here by now.'

'Relax leader girl, she probably just got distracted by a bunny rabbit again.' Buttercup said. 'Besides, if you're so worried just call her on the watch.'

'I all ready tried that.'

'Then use the locator, duh.'

'Fine I will.' Blossom touched some of the buttons on the watch and eventually the display showed a grid with two beeping dots. One was dead centre and the other was right next to it, this represented Blossom and Buttercup's locations.

'Well where is she then?'

'This is weird; the locator only has two dots on it.' Blossom said as she tried over and over again to make Bubbles location show. 'Even if her watch is damaged the display should show the last location Bubbles was before the watch lost contact.'

'I am starting to get a bad feeling about this.'

'Same here, we better start a search for her.' Blossom said as she stopped trying to make the watch work.

* * *

Bellow was a demon, above was a hero and between them there was only darkness.

'Him.' Bubbles said. 'What are you doing here?'

'That is not your concern little Bubbles.' Him said. 'All you need know is that you shall not be going very far without going through me first.'

'I don't have to fight with you.' Bubbles said. 'If you stop whatever you're doing, and let me talk with my sisters again you can go.'

'**Not a chance!**' Him shouted at Bubbles. 'I will not end up like Tommy, not for a Power Puff Girl.'

Bubbles had no idea what Him was talking about, she did not know anyone called Tommy or why Him did not want to become like him. What Bubbles did know was she was alone and Him was not letting her go, she had tried to reason with him and now only one course of action remained. Bubbles charged down at Him planning to hit him with a punch to the head. Him stood his ground while Bubbles speeded towards him; he needed her to be very close for his plan to work. It was in fact at the very last second, just before Bubbles could make the hit, that Him put his claw in front of his mouth and blew out. On top of the black pincer there was a blue powder which covered Bubbles when Him blew it in her face.

'What on earth?' Bubbles said as she started to cough on the blue powder that floated around her. It was as she breathed in this strange powder that her head started to feel heavy, her arms and legs seemed to become stiff and her vision started to double.

'Knock out powder, crude but effective even on someone as strong as you Bubbles.' Him said as Bubbles fell to the ground, unable to find the energy to float anymore. Bubbles went to her hands and knees as her consciousness started to lose the battle with the chemical in her blood, her vision now a simple blur that was beginning to darken.

'You… cheated.' Bubbles managed to say before she collapsed into a heap at Him's feet, sleeping soundly.

'Yes I did cheat, and because of that I win.' Him said as he waited to be absolutely sure the drug had done its work, he was taking no risks when the punishments were so high. When there was no doubt in his mind that Bubbles was sleeping, Him picked her up by the neck. Bubbles could not wake even though her throat was held tightly by Him's pincer, her feet dangling off the ground as Him held her up to his face.

'**Die Power Puff.**' Him pulled up his other claw and was about to force it through Bubbles gut when he was stopped. A memory flashed through his mind that was vivid it seemed real to him. It was no longer a black claw in front of his eyes, but a human hand. Bubbles was no longer then one held at the mercy of another, it was a badly beaten demon who could only watch as his own death seemed inevitable. The memory only flashed by for a second but that was all it took.

'All debts are paid.' Him said as he put his claw down and relaxed his grip on Bubbles neck. 'You can thank Boomer for your life.' Him said as he tossed Bubbles out of his grip and to the side like used garbage.

* * *

'Bubbles?' She could hear her name been spoken over and over again, yet it seemed like whoever was saying it was a mile away. Her limbs still felt heavy, her eye lids paralysed and her mind fogged over. But with each repeat of her name Bubbles started to regain consciousness, pulling away from the comfort of sleep and back to the real world.

'I think she is coming round leader girl.' That sounded like Buttercup but it was quiet, so distant it was hard to tell for sure.

'I think you're right.' Now that was definitely Blossom's voice. Bubbles was rising to the surface of consciousness like a balloon, getting faster and faster the higher it went. She now found the strength to open her eyes, and for a moment the light stung her eyes but then the world came into focus. She could see both Blossom and Buttercup standing over her, the darkness had gone and now the world looked normal.

'What happened?' Bubbles asked as she found her voice once more.

'We were hoping you could tell us what happened.' Blossom said. 'We found you here sleeping like Rip-van-winkle; we tried everything to wake you up.'

'Him, what happened to Him?' Bubbles said as she slowly sat up, her body still feeling stiff and sore.

'Him?' Buttercup said as she looked around for any trace of the dangerous criminal.

'Him knocked me out with some kind of drug.' Bubbles explained. 'I was sure he was going to kill me.'

'That is odd, if he had you at his mercy why did he just leave you here?' Blossom said. 'It makes no sense; he could have used you to lure us into a trap… or at least eliminated an enemy. This does not seem like Him at all.'

'He sounded like he was protecting something, that he did not want me to go any further.' Bubbles offered up. 'Maybe that's why he let me go.'

'It's possible I suppose…' Blossom said.

'Hey Blossom.' Buttercup said as Blossom started to go off on a track of thought. 'Why not call the Professor, maybe he has heard something… some big crime or something. Him might have been making a distraction or something.'

'Good idea Buttercup.' Blossom said as she started to push the buttons that called the Professor.

'That's me, brawns and brains… and the best looking of the lot.' Buttercup said as she struck some dramatic poses.

'Oh shut up Buttercup.' Blossom said offhandedly before she made contact with Professor Utonium.

'Girls I'm glad you called.' Professor Utonium's voice came out of al the watches at once. 'I just received word that there was major robbery in the industrial district.'

'What happened?' Blossom said into the watch.

'Someone broke into Cyberdine research and development headquarters.' Professor Utonium continued. 'This was one amazing job; they set off no alarms and got out completely undetected all with in ten minutes.'

'What was stolen Professor?' Bubbles asked.

'Not much really, and that's the strange part.' The Professor said. 'Cyberdine has some very valuable equipment and documents. The area that was broken into must have over a billion dollars worth of secrets, yet only one of these was taken. A prototype computer system with advanced AI and mathematical abilities. The system was a prototype made over twenty years ago and still is been studied, the technology inside of it is simply amazing.'

'Was it Him?' Bubbles asked suddenly.

'Him?' Professor Utonium said blankly. 'No it was not Him who raided Cyberdine, I am positive of that. Why do you ask… surly MoJo JoJo would be a better guess?'

'Bubbles had a run in with Him… in the industrial district.' Blossom said.

'I see… I wonder if Him works for… its possible I suppose.' Professor Utonium was obviously talking to himself but the girls listened in with great interest.

'How do you know it was not Him?' Buttercup said after the Professor had gone quiet.

'Because of the only evidence they have found so far.' Professor Utonium sounded shocked, he had started day dreaming as his thoughts went by and Buttercup had snapped him out of it. 'The only piece of evidence that was found was a single black rose left where the computer was. The rose is the calling card of William Angelo.'


	2. William Angelo's last stand

Forgotten 

Part 2

William Angelo's last stand

In a former life the owner of Cyberdine computer systems inc. was known to a certain demon as "The pallid little thing." And not much had changed since then. Even after rising up from been William Angelo's lackey to owning such a huge business he was still a "pallid little thing" who only talked when he was forced.

'Mr. Phillips was deeply shocked by this event girls.' Mr. King said. 'We have one of the worlds top security systems and yet, well you can see how ineffective it was.'

Mr. King was Jerry "the pallid little thing" Phillip's assistant and, for most of the conversation with the Power Puff Girls, he did most of the talking. Mr. Phillip's sat at his desk looking into space as he thought of what this could mean for himself. He had used William Angelo's own money to build this empire, the same day as William was sentenced to life. What if the old boss wanted his money back, or revenge for Phillip's letting him swing alone?

'It doesn't seem that great a security system; I could steal from here with out breaking a sweat.' Buttercup said as she looked over the basic lay out of the building.

'Well yes your super powers could make short work of even this system, but you must see that what truly amazes us is how cleanly this was done.' Mr. King continued. 'If you did attack this facility we would have enough evidence to put you away no questions asked. But we have nothing for this current crime, apart from the rose of course.' The assistant nodded toward the black rose held in a plastic bag that sat on the end of the desk.

'Are you sure that you have no evidence at all?' Blossom asked, unlike Buttercup she could see how truly impressive security was at this research centre.

'Nothing at all, it was as if a ghost robbed us and not a man at all.' No one heard Jerry Phillip's mutter under his breath that it was not a man who robbed them.

'The suspect managed to get past every one of your alarms, cameras, guards, traps and doors with out leaving so much as a finger print?' Blossom said.

'Not only that, but somehow left with a very large super computer.' Mr. King said. 'You must understand that this computer was the size of a small room, to simply escape with it unnoticed is absurd.'

'What's so special about this computer?' Bubbles said.

'It was built in the early nineteen-eighties and still is far ahead of current technology.' Mr. King explained. 'It was built for a little known company which Cyberdine bought out early on. The system was very difficult to get due to some legal matters but since then it has been in our possession. We are… were… still researching it and still were unlocking new secrets from it. The computer is worth millions to us, and its potential to advance human knowledge is beyond price.'

'Well thank you for your help Mr. King and Mr. Phillip's and don't worry, we will find who ever it was who stole your computer.' Blossom said. 'The police will find evidence I'm sure, and when they do we'll catch who did this.'

'Yeah!' Bubbles shouted a little too zealously, earning her confused looks from everyone else in the room.

'Thank you girls.' Mr. King said as he showed the Power Puff Girls the way out. 'If you need anymore help please feel free to come back anytime.'

'He got out.' Phillip's said when the door closed on the girls and he was once again left alone. 'He really was let out, what fool did this?'

'Sir are you sure it was right not to tell the Power Puff Girls and police the whole truth?' Mr. King said after he had said his farewells to the Power Puff's.

'For our health, yes.' Phillip's said as he stood up. 'Charter a plane; I want to be in Tokyo by tomorrow.'

'Do you really think this William Angelo will come after you sir?' Mr. King asked and the only answer he got was Mr. Phillip's leaving the office to pack for his trip to some where he hoped was safe.

* * *

'I don't know why but I get the feeling they weren't telling us the whole story.' Blossom said as they left Cyberdine systems and started to fly above the city.

'Mr. King seemed nice enough to me, why would he not tell us everything?' Bubbles asked.

'I think you bow is on to tight leader girl.' Buttercup said. 'It's making you paranoid.'

'Stop it Buttercup.' Blossom gave her sister a sharp look before facing forward again.

'Ok then what do we do next?' Bubbles tried to change the subject before another fight would erupt.

'We need to know more about our opponent.' Blossom said. 'We hardly know more then his name, we can't do anything until we know what we are up against.'

'You better not be thinking what I think you are Blossom.' Buttercup said.

'We have to do some research at the library.'

'Ah I knew you would say that!' Buttercup said as she grabbed her head in frustration. 'What kind of dorky super hero goes to the library to fight crime? Do you ever see Superman or the Hulk go down to their local library to fight crime? No because super heroes are cool, and only nerds spend time at the library. So there is no way in hell you will get me to go there.'

* * *

'Stupid blackmail.' Buttercup said as she was looking over the shelves of the library. 'My blanky is my own private business and if Blossom starts blabbing about it at school…'

'You find anything yet Buttercup?' Bubbles asked as she came round the corner holding a tall pile of books.

'No.' Buttercup said as she tossed a book aside. 'It's not like it's an easy topic, "psychos of the decade fashion forgot." And another thing…'

'Can I be of any help?' A voice said behind Buttercup which caused the green Puff to jump up in the air and touch the ceiling.

'Buttercup are you all right?' Blossom said as she ran round the corner to see what was going on.

'I am very sorry if I frightened you little girl.' The voice said again, this time Buttercup could actually see who it came from. It was a man dressed in the cheapest suit on earth, with a name tag on the front that said "Barry Archer." And the symbol for Townsville library bellow it.

'How did you sneak up on me like that?' Buttercup asked as she caught her breath again.

'I did not mean to do it; it was just a pure accident.' Barry said. 'I just wanted to know if you needed any help, you were looking a wee bit lost.' Barry had a calming voice, something that seemed to sooth even Buttercup.

'Well you might be able to help us; we are trying to learn about a criminal called William Angelo.' As soon as Blossom said the name "William Angelo" Barry's eyes lit up like a child's at Christmas.

'William Angelo.' Barry said with a dreamy quality. 'Well you are in luck; I am a scholar of all that is William Angelo… possibly the greatest mystery of our time, and the greatest villain of all time.'

'You're and expert on William Angelo?' Bubbles asked.

'I would not call anyone an expert, there is just too much I don't know about William Angelo, but I am as close as you can find in this day and age.' Barry said with only a hint of pride in his voice. 'If you have any questions I would be more then happy to answer them.'

'Well we need to know as much as we can.' Blossom said. 'I guess the first question should be where he came from.'

'That is one thing I don't know, and as far as I know no one knows. William Angelo was first sighted walking down the Townsville highway at one thirty am on January 1st nineteen-eighty. He was offered lifts but refused them, walking the whole way into town. Before that there are no records of him ever existing, and I am not the only one to have looked.

'Well that was a whole lot of help, the guy just showed up one day.' Buttercup said.

'I am sorry but as I said, there are many mysteries when it comes to William Angelo.' Barry shrugged as he went on. 'He showed up walking and since then as far as I know he has walked everywhere, never taken any type of transport… which is scary in a way. There are stories that he would be seen walking down Townsville high street at nine in the morning, only to be seen walking around Paris at ten past nine.'

'So he can fly then?' Bubbles asked Barry.

'Not as far as I know, he had many powers but I think the best he could manage was levitation… not flight.'

'What other powers did he have?' Blossom said next.

'Hmm well he did have quiet a few young lady, and I don't know if he showed them all.' Barry moved a chair from under a table and sat down. 'He had incredible speed and strength, complimented by a perfect fighting style. He was known to use a revolver as a weapon, a weapon of the best quality that could kill even the strongest hero. He could heal himself given time, even fix broken bones as easy as clicking his fingers. But the majority of his powers seemed to come from a mystical source of some kind or another. He could summon the elements to do his will, bend time and space around him to what he saw fit and he could control the hearts and minds of nearly everyone on earth.'

'Sounds like a super version of Him.' Buttercup said.

'Him is a no good second rate knock off!' Barry said with a glint of anger flashing through his eyes. 'William Angelo owned Him along with every other criminal in this town. Him was used to keep William out of jail along with his cohorts and a few other minor jobs. If Him had not betrayed William Angelo then that low rate demon would still be under William's thumb.'

'Him really served under William?' Bubbles said, now starting to understand why Him had attacked her when she had gotten so close to Cyberdine systems.

'Yes he did, Him even feared William Angelo.' Barry said.

'If he was that powerful then how was he stopped?' Buttercup asked, she was now starting to worry about William. The photos she had seen told her he was ruthless and pure evil, and now it seemed he had the power to back it up.

'For almost a year William controlled all of Townsville both its legitimate side and its criminal under world.' Barry started to scratch his head as if trying to remember something lost to the washes of time. 'The government decided to act; I can't remember much on what they did… I am a fan of William Angelo and his mystery not how he was defeated you see. I think that is was some kind of do it yourself superhero called…err… um… it began with an S I am sure…. Stephen De-joule!' Barry clicked his fingers as he remembered the hero of long ago.

'Stephen De-joule?' Blossom said. 'I have never heard of anyone called Stephen De-joule, let alone a superhero.' Barry just shrugged to this.

'So this Stephen De-joule was as powerful as William Angelo?' Buttercup said.

'Oh yes, he had immunities to some of William's powers and was as strong and fast as William was.' Barry said. 'They had some of the greatest fights on earth, real brawls. It's a shame most of them have been lost over time, they were truly stupendous.'

'How did it end then?' Blossom asked.

'It ended with the end my child, as it always does.' For a moment Barry's voice lost its calming and mellowing effect and sent a shiver of fear through all three girls. 'William was betrayed and his final plan failed, it's as simple as that really. You see William always stayed a few steps ahead, suspected of every crime but never getting caught… he only went to trail three times and was only convicted on that last trial. But the last time he had no way out, Him gave Stephen De-joule the location of William latest creation…'

'What was it?' the Power Puff Girls asked at the same time causing Barry to smile as he held back laughter.

'He created a weapon, designed to take away anyone's superpowers.'

'That's it?' Buttercup said. 'He made a machine to take away superpowers. MoJo JoJo builds one of those every other week and still fails miserably.'

'In eighty-three such technology was unheard of little girl, and even by today's standard it is well in advance of what we could create.' Barry said never taking his eyes off Buttercup. 'And this was not just specific for one person or power type, it could take anyone's powers. Whether you had them from birth, use chemicals, technology or even mystical sources for your powers this machine could strip them from you for as long or short a time as William wanted. He planed to use a gun to fire it into space, and then use a satellite system to target anyone on earth he wanted to make powerless.'

'He could have taken away every superhero on earth with that thing.' Blossom said as she now saw how brilliant William's final plan had been.

'Yes he would have tipped the scales of balance to evil far too much for good to stand against him for long.' Barry said as he nodded. 'But lucky for all of us Him told Stephen De-joule where this device was been built, so he could stop it before its final stage. When Stephen did reach it the device had already been mostly built its energy core was working and the super computer that ran the machine was operational. All it lacked was the firing mechanism, with out which it was next to useless.'

'So what happened next?' Buttercup asked with greedy eyes, this was becoming a story which was after her own heart. A final and titanic battle for the fate of the human race.

'Well…' Barry stopped and clicked his fingers beside his head. 'Why don't I show you? Why I almost forgot about this. Come on follow me.' Barry said as he got out of his chair and started to walk to a door labeled "Authorized staff only!" in big red letters. The Girls shrugged and followed Barry as he went into the room, which turned out to be a video store room.

'What is it you're going to show us Mr. Archer?' Bubbles asked as the door closed behind them.

'Please call me Barry.' Barry said as he went over to a shelf and began to scan it for the right tape. 'And I am going to show you actual video footage of the final fight between William Angelo and Stephen De-joule. You see William had security cameras in the old factory he was using to build his device; these were confiscated and used against him at his trial. I managed to get a copy of the fight some years ago, and… oh here it is.' Barry pulled out an old video tape from the collection, the dust falling off it in a thick sheet. 'I hope this helps you girls.' Barry said as he put the tape into the player in the room and pressed play.

* * *

The factory had once been used to create children's toys, but after its owners became bankrupt and William bought it, the factory had a far more sinister purpose. The greatest weapon ever seen was been made with in its walls now, nearing its completion when it would bring chaos to the world. The device filled half the factory now, a giant orb of golden energy held by four machines that created it. Around it the machines that were building it continued their tasks, all controlled by the super computer at the highest point of the room.

Standing on catwalk high above the energy orb was a man dressed completely in white, from his tie to his shoes, in what had to be the most expensive suit on earth. His hair was bright blond and in a cut which might have cost more then his suit, but not as much as the watch which glinted at his wrist.

(_Blossom: is that William Angelo?_

_Barry: Yes and no… it is him but he never looked like that._

_Blossom: What do you mean?_

_Barry: All the images of William Angelo have been altered somehow; none look like he really did… some even depict him as a woman._

_Buttercup: So what did he look like?_

_Barry: I can't remember… no one can. But I do know it was not like that, never like that.)_

'Computer increase the energy yield by half a Calla-watt.' William said, his accent a sweet British one which could charm the birds off the trees. He sounded calm and happy as he ordered his computer like a slave. Unless someone told you so you would never believe this man had an evil bone in his body or was feared more then hell itself.

William was still pushing buttons on the main computer panel when the doors to the factory suddenly exploded in wards. The huge metal doors flew off their hinges and across the factory floor, ending up embedded into the far wall. Now standing at the threshold was a new character, his hand extended as if he had punched the door open.

'Knock, knock.' The new man said, his voice sounded older then he looked with no distinguishable accent to it. This was a solider no doubts, he wore coveralls that all but screamed mercenary commando. Strapped to his sides hung to pistols that had never drawn blood, and in his boot the handle of a knife could be seen.

_(Bubbles: Is the guy with the sandy hair Stephen De-Joule?_

_Barry: Yes, the great hero of Townsville.)_

'Stephen?' William was genuinely surprised for one of the few times in his very long life. 'I see I have been betrayed.' William said from high above on his platform.

'Come down here William!' Stephen shouted as he walked into the factory.

'I was not expecting you so soon Steve my boy, I don't suppose I can convince you to come back next week?' William smiled as he saw Stephen continue to walk into his factory. 'Oh well, guess its over. TTFN Steve!' William started to run down the catwalk, making a break for freedom so he could fight another day. Stephen had waited too long for this day; he was not letting William Angelo escape so easily. With one massive leap Stephen made it all the way to the top of the catwalk which was at least four stories high.

'One shall stand, one shall fall.' Stephen said as he landed in front of William Angelo, all ready moving into a fighting stance.

'I see my dramatic side is starting to rub off on you Steve.' William said as he skidded to a halt. 'Very well then boy, we end it here and now. No one runs, no one quits and tonight a victor will be decided. I will miss you Steve my boy.' William shot his hand down to his side where a silver revolver seemed to appear from nowhere flying up so fast not even the cameras could catch the move. But Stephen De-joule did see the attack coming; he had all ready started to move before William had put his hand to where the revolver waited. No one on earth could beat William Angelo to the draw, not even Stephen, but this was not a showdown. William had fired all six of his bullets in less then a second, all filling the space Stephen had occupied a moment earlier. Now with his gun empty William was vulnerable, Stephen drew his own pistol out and fired a single shot with it. The bullet flew out strait and true as any had before, smashing the sliver revolver out of William hand. There was a cry of pain as William saw his precious gun fall from the catwalk and down to the ground, lost for the rest of this fight.

'Damn it!' William said as he looked at his hurt hand, and then at the pistol now aimed at his head. It looked like it had all ended, in less then a minute a two year conflict was about to reach it close. But Stephen made history by surprising William Angelo twice in one day; he tossed his own gun over the side of the catwalk.

'We will fight hand to hand William.' Stephen said as he brushed his sandy hair back with one hand and tossed the other gun away with the other hand. 'Just you and me, one final time.'

'Such heroic nonsense.' William said while he straitened his expensive suit. 'You will regret not killing me when you had the chance Steve. I hope your morals do you well in heaven boy, I do.'

'Talking is done William, there is only fighting now.' And that was the last that was said by either man before the fight had reached it conclusion.

The first move was made by Stephen who ran across the catwalk to meet William Angelo head on. He came in with a low punch to the gut but William blocked it quickly with an open hand, stopping the fist before it had traveled more then a few inches. William made his own punch aimed for Stephen's head, but the hero put his free hand up and deflected the blow to one side, moving the other hand up just in time to stop a second punch aimed for his chin. William tried to back spin around and hit Stephen with the back of his fist, but Stephen again blocked with both hands, grabbing the arm and trying to twist it into a lock. William acted quickly to flip his weight over and come back with a punch meant for Stephen's kidney. Stephen span himself out of the way of the hit but in doing so had to let go of William's arm.

_(Buttercup: I don't see what's so impressive about these guys, they're slow as turtles and I don't see any real power in their attacks._

_Blossom: they are both tactically impressive, but I have to agree with Buttercup. They seem very slow _

_Barry: These cameras are slowing the action down so we can see it; these two have been clocked at moving well over nine hundred miles per hour before. And as for power, the cameras have stabilizers built into them but we sure did not. Each time they hit each other the effect showed up on the Richter scale.)_

Five kicks flew at five different points on Stephen's body, each blocked by Stephen's own foot which followed the attacks perfectly. Stephen came in with a roundhouse kick which went over William's head, countered by an uppercut punch which Stephen just managed to avoid. Seeing an opening Stephen made a quick kick into William's solar plexus, the tip of his boot just hitting before William fell back to avoid taking the full brunt of the attack. It was the first hit of the fight, and it had hardly done anything to William who just dusted off his suit. Angelo attacked with his hands opened out like a beasts claws, slashing at his foe with a controlled ferocity. The air whistled as Stephen was forced back by the strikes of William, his blocks having to be precise, if he hit the hand his arm would but cut to ribbons. One the strikes finally slipped past his guard and slashed open his chest, four red streaks instantly appeared across his chest, first blood had been drawn.

Stephen had to counter quickly or he would be killed on this catwalk, with out really thinking Stephen made his move. Dropping down low he sprang to his left just under William's attack, Stephen losing a few hairs in the process, and now able to make his own quick attack. There was a blur even the cameras could not compensate for, while Stephen grabbed Williams arm with one hand and swung round the guard rail for the catwalk. There was only a brief moment for William to see what was happening before it was done, Stephen had his arm and had it right where he wanted. William's left arm hit the guard rain and then was pulled by the full weight of Stephen and he swung back round onto the cat walk. There was a loud crunching noise as bones shattered which was then replaced by William screaming. His arm was a ruined mess, the bones nothing more then shards floating around in the flesh.

The fight might have ended here and now if William was a normal fighter, but he was not even human. The screaming was replaced by laughing which in this hollow recording held none of its true power, but enough to make even the bravest man shiver. A noise like someone snapping trees in half filled the air as the arm started to bend on its own will, moving its shattered bones back into place. It all happened in the time it took for a single breath to be taken in, William Angelo now whole once more. He lifted his arm and tried flexing it a few times, and found it as good as new even if it was covered in small cuts that blood still oozed out of.

The fight continued at a rapid pace, both fighters giving their all as they danced above a second sun. They seemed perfectly matched for each other, every move one made seemed to be countered before it even started, and that counter itself stopped during the attack itself. Stephen made a hit on William, his hands moving in rapid chops into the stomach before he was pushed back by a fist in his shoulder. There was no rest as William attacked with a series of rapid punches which Stephen struggled to keep up with. Eventually he made a mistake and paid for it as an open hand crashed into his chest snapping two of is ribs and sending fire deep into his lungs. Even with the pain Stephen made an attack of his own, spinning the back of his heel into William face and feeling the law snap when it hit. He did not stop, did not show mercy, as he came round again with the front of his other foot hitting William in the thigh. This was a mistake on his part as his momentum had been stopped; Stephen did not have enough time to move before William grabbed his leg in a tight hold.

The sound of trees been broken came again as William made his jaw set back again then he threw Stephen off the top of the catwalk. His body went hurtling down to the ground with suicidal speed, but the skilled fighter managed to save himself. He placed both hands out and sprang into a series of flips to take away as much of the energy as he could. His wrists and arms had taken a lot of strain and tomorrow would hurt like hell, but for that to happen he would have to be still alive tomorrow.

William watched this from the catwalk silently cursing his adversary's skill before he jumped from the catwalk and back down to the factory floor. Now they had a free range of space to continue their battle, the possibility of falling gone. The battle went on, Stephen again making the first move but this time he was far more successful. He spread open both of his arms knocking William's own arms open as well, giving him a clear shot at his enemy. Using his left foot to push off Stephen got high enough to put all his power into a kick at William's head. His right foot flying up and making a direct hit. Blood spewed out of William's nose as he stumbled back, the cartilage already healing its self and the blood flow slowing down to a trickle.

The factory had hundreds of different machines, some still working other lay dead as their tasks had been fulfilled. After William had recovered it was one of these dead machine Stephen was to get a close encounter with. William charged Stephen who tried to stop him by planting a kick in his head, but William strafed just enough so the kick went over his shoulder, giving him the perfect leverage. Stephen could not stop William with only one foot on the ground, so went where William wanted him to go. He tried to stop this by hitting William over the head with some hard punches, one hard enough to cut open William's head and let his bright blond hair turn dark red. But it was not enough, as William ignored the pain and ran to the closest machine he could find. Stephen felt pain jump out of his spine as his back hit the metal, crushing it like it was made of wet tissue paper. He tried not to scream but the pain was too much and he let a yell escape from his mouth.

William still had Stephen in his grip and swung him round like he weighed nothing, smashing him into the wall causing a crater in concrete. Stephen again screamed out in pain as his sore back hit the solid wall again and again. He may have died here if the years of training had not forced his hand to act, Stephen did not even consciously think about what he was doing as he made his escape. Both his hands came down on William's neck in a double strike that sent the nerves into a chaotic spasm. Then there was a flash as Stephen kicked William off of him, sending the man in the white suit flying across the room and almost to the other wall. Stephen now fell free of his crater, his back still alive with pain and his energy feeling a low as a dead battery's. His breathing became hard as he struggled to be the first up, and on the other side of the room William was also making the same struggle. It was with sheer determination not to fail that Stephen pushed past the pain and rose to his feet first.

(_Blossom: The fight is all ready over, Stephen has won._

_Buttercup: What are you on about leader girl?_

_Blossom: William Angelo just lost the fight.)_

There was not a second wasted as Stephen leapt up and attacked William Angelo before he could stand up once more. Stephen leapt the distance of the factory as to come down on William's neck, his knee driven into the bone and forcing the face into the concrete floor. William made a muffled sound of pain as his nose broke once more along with some of his teeth. As soon as the crack of breaking bones was heard Stephen jumped off William and rolled back out of the way.

The battered man

(_Demon. God)_

managed to slowly struggle back to it feet, his whole body quivering with pain. He never saw Stephen's knee as it rammed into his face with enough force to send him into the air if he was not been held tightly by Stephen. More blood seemed to appear from no where as a cut magically grew on William's face where the knee had struck. There was a wordless cry of pain just before William tried to make some futile attacks, his blows now seeming sluggish and worthless. Each move he made seemed to be effortlessly blocked by Stephen; his hands just seemed to move as gracefully as William's moved clumsily. William tried to double punch Stephen who let himself fall to his side, stopping his decent with his left hand. Using this drive Stephen tried a double kick which William blocked, but through more luck then skill now. His arms stopped the kicks and allowed him to try and hit once more, his right leg swept across to Stephens hand to try and knock him down. Stephen simply pushed off with his hand and jumped over the sweep kick and landed upright and ready to keep fighting. William however could not stop now he had committed to that move, his whole body swung round to face away from Stephen, leaving him completely open.

William did not see what had happened, only its results; he felt more agony in his back as he found himself soaring through the air. What he had not seen was Stephen flipping backwards and hitting William with a double kick that had enough strength to send him to the ceiling of the factory. He would have plummeted back down and possibly died if he had not managed to grab hold of the catwalk railing on the way back down. His arm wrapped round the metal guard railing and with what little energy he had left he dragged his body over the edge. Stephen watched this from below, catching his breath and letting some of his own injuries start to heal themselves. What he saw sickened him, William was crawling across the walkway to the second exit in the factory, so much for no one running and no one quitting.

William never had a real chance of escape, but his need to survive was too much as he crawled across the metal ground, leaving a trial of his own blood. He hardly even heard it when Stephen jumped up to his level and landed just a few feet ahead of him. Ironically they were right back where the fight started, this time William was but a shadow of his former self and Stephen still looked like a fighter even covered in as much blood as William was. There was a time when William may have tried begging for his life but this was not it, he had done too much to ever get that for this man. He simply tried to rush past him instead, staggering to his feet and making a blind charge for the door that lead to freedom. He took no more then three steps before Stephen's hand grabbed him by the neck and pulled him back.

(_Buttercup: yeah that's it! Finish him off!_

_Bubbles: you're so blood thirsty Buttercup._

_Blossom: Shush both of you; I want to see how this ends.)_

They looked at each other, the victor and the vanquished, taking in this historic moment before its final climax. Stephen attacked with a ferocious punch to William's face, the hit sounding like thunder as his head snapped back and new blood flowed out of his face. William put his hands on Stephen's arm and tried to pull it off his neck but it was no good. Stephen hit him again and again with powerful punches to the face, each one causing more damage then the last and taking more of William's life. How many punches were thrown is not important, all that is was that it was enough to end this fight and make no doubt over who had won. William was a bloody mess held up by Stephen who now could have killed him as easily as killing a fly. Instead of landing a killer blow Stephen pulled back his arm as far as he could and hit William with one final devastating punch to the face. This time he let go of William's neck and so the defeated fighter flew like a bullet from his own gun. His body scraping across the catwalk and coming to a halt just next to the super computer which ran the device he was building.

'Give it up William, its over.' Stephen said as he came out of a fighting pose and looked at his conquered foe. 'No one has to die today.'

William was pulling himself up; using the computer to take his weight as he felt most of his energy was gone. He looked at Stephen with his one good eye; the other was closed tightly and swollen as blood leaked out of it.

'I am sorry boy but that's not how this story ends.' William's hands darted over the controls for the device and alarms started to ring out. 'I am afraid that our battle ends in one final draw Steve.'

'What did you do?' Stephen said as he looked around at the factory which was starting to shake so much not even the camera compensators could stay still.

'This device is basically as huge energy ball at the moment, with no focus its held in containment by force fields and regulated by this computer. However if the energy rate is allowed to go over three Calla-watts then nothing can stop it from continuing to expand its energy horizon. In simple terms this is one giant bomb that I have just set to explode.'

'Sop it right now and I will let you go William.' Stephen said as he stood out of the way, fully meaning to let William go if he stopped the bomb.

'Afraid I can't do that my boy, as I said nothing can stop this from happening when it gets started. The computer can not compensate for long, and when containment is lost the resulting explosion will be the equivalent to one-hundred Hydroton's.'

'That's enough to create a miniature sun; the whole planet will be destroyed!' Stephen said in shock as William started to laugh again.

'Not just our world, I think every one of the inner planets should be destroyed by the explosion.' William stopped laughing for a moment to say his last words. 'In about fifteen minutes this will all be for nothing. We will all be just dust in the wind.' At this he went off into another mad gale of laughter, only silenced when Stephen hit him one last time. Stephen streaked across the catwalk like a bolt of lightning and smashed William with a final uppercut, and so all laughing ceased. William's body went tumbling over the side of the catwalk his eyes rolled back to the whites and his limp body made a dull smack as it hit the ground.

(_Bubbles: oh no how will he stop it!_

_Buttercup: It's obvious that he does, or else we wouldn't be here._

_Blossom: Did William survive that fall?_

_Barry: I'll tell you in a second, just see how it ends.)_

Stephen's hands danced over the computer controls as he desperately tried to find a way to stop the overload for occurring. He had for a moment thought of destroying the device, but that would have just released the energy and destroyed the planet anyway. His only hope was that William had lied and there was a away to stop an overload. Every command he tried came back with a negative, even after he had hacked through the codes and had full access to the system he could not stop the overload. It seemed William had not lied, the computer was doing all it could to stop the explosion and it was failing.

'Damn it all there has to be a way of stopping this.' Stephen said as he hit his hands against the control panel after he was given another negative command. He walked away from the panel and looked down on the glowing energy which was the source of the troubles. It did not look any different but he knew it was gathering energy at an alarming rate, and soon it would no longer be held in the confines of this device, instead it would fill the whole planet and then some. Stephen looked at it and thought of its original purpose, it was possible that could be used against it. With out a further thought Stephen jumped over the railing and into the orb of golden light below. There was a bright flash of light and then the cameras went dead as static snow filled every screen…

* * *

'That's it I am afraid.' Barry said as he ejected the tape and put it back in its rightful place. 'The whole of the security system overloaded at that point and cut out.'

'How did he stop the device?' Blossom asked when Barry came back from the shelves.

'Well from what I heard Stephen De-joule absorbed all of the energy into his own body and thus stopped the explosion.' Barry said. 'Quite cleaver really, seeming the energy was meant to be absorbed by the human body to take away their powers.'

'Did Stephen and William survive?' Bubbles asked.

'Well I can't rightly remember if Stephen did live through it, I have not heard of him since then.' Barry said as he turned off the equipment. 'William however did live, he was found badly hurt but he was fully healed two days later. Angelo stood trial a week after that and was found guilty of some serious crimes. He was transferred to Citiesville maximum security prison and placed in a special cell. That's where he's been for the past twenty four years.'

'Well thanks for telling us all of this; it will really help us out Mr. Archer.' Blossom said as they left the library to head for home.

'Don't mention it kids.' Barry said as they started to fly off. 'I'll be seeing you soon, real soon.'

* * *

'Yes now you tell me about it I do remember the final battle between William Angelo and Stephen De-joule… it was big news back then.' Professor Utonium said. He was sitting in the living room with his three daughters who had explained to him what had happened to them during the day.

'If that fight is anything to go by then this William could actually be a threat to us.' Blossom said. 'He has power and is mad enough to kill innocent people to get what he wants.'

'Here's a question.' Buttercup said. 'What on earth does he want? After been locked up for twenty years he shows up and starts committing some pretty stupid crimes.'

'He leaves hints that show it's defiantly him that doing this, if we catch him he cant weasel out again.' Bubbles said. 'Not with out Him to influence the judges and jury for him.'

'And what is he doing?' Blossom said. 'Stealing a computer seems petty to me. Why not start rebuilding his crime empire, or searching for Stephen De-joule?'

'He might be dead don't forget Blossom.' Professor Utonium said.

'Well I have no idea what to do next… apart to wait for his next move.' Blossom said.

'Ah I hate waiting for the bad guys to make the first move.' Buttercup said. 'That has to be the worst plan ever Blossom.'

'Well if you have any better ideas I'd like to hear them.' Another fight might have started if the door bell had not rung just then.

'Now who could that be?' Professor Utonium said as he went to the door to see a stranger standing there.

'Is this the Utonium residence?' The stranger asked.

'Yes it is, and who are you?' Professor Utonium asked.

'My name is Stephen De-joule.'


	3. The return of a hero

Forgotten 

Part 3

The return of a hero

The man standing in the doorway of the Utonium home claimed to be a long forgotten hero named Stephen De-joule. The Power Puff Girls instantly recognised him from the video tape of his final battle with William Angelo, even though time had not been kind to him. His sandy hair had large streaks of grey through it, crows' feet had appeared at the edges of his eyes which in turn were blood shot, a large ugly scar went across his right cheek and his skin had a slightly yellow appearance.

'I don't want to sound rude but are you going to make me stand out here all day?' Stephen asked as the Professor continued to gawk at him.

'What? Oh I am sorry please come in Mr De-joule.' Professor Utonium moved to one side to allow Stephen to walk into his house. As soon as he did Stephens long trench coat moved showing a pistol strapped to his waist.

'What are you doing?' Stephen asked when Professor Utonium put his hand out to block the door.

'I will not have guns in my house.' The Professor said. 'I don't care who you are or what the situation maybe, but no one can enter this house with any firearm. If you would please remove them'

'You're a strange fellow Utonium.' De-joule said as he took a step back. 'But it's your decision, I doubt William will attack here any how… I will just put my guns in the car.' Stephen started to walk over to a small car which was almost definitely a rental car.

'Thank you Mr De-joule, I am glad you understand.' Professor Utonium said as he followed Stephen to his car.

'Call me Stephen, just don't call me Steve.' Stephen said as he opened up the trunk of his car which was completely empty. 'Now let's see what I have with me.' Stephen took off his coat and put it down on the top of the car, showing his arsenal to Professor Utonium. He had at least twenty guns strapped to his body, ranging from pistols to rifles that were in pieces and something that looked suspiciously like an illegal fusion cannon. Stephen started to un-strap all of the weapons on his body, throwing them into the trunk with out a second thought, just taking a little more care with the grenades he had. When he finished with all the obvious weapons he started with his hidden guns, two guns attached to his arms, three guns hidden in his trousers, two guns in his boots, an explosive device behind his belt buckle and the parts needed to build a laser assault rifle taped to his back.

'You need all of those guns?' Professor Utonium said as he saw the entire trunk was now full of dangerous looking objects.

'Well they might be enough to slow William Angelo down a bit, if I'm lucky.' Stephen pulled a large knife out of his boot and showed it to the Professor. 'Can I keep the knife?'

'Uh… yeah sure...' Professor Utonium was still in awe of the sheer amount of weaponry the man had hidden on his body, it must be enough to wage a small war.

'Thanks John.' Stephen threw the knife into the air and it landed perfectly in the scabbard hidden in his boot.

* * *

'Whoa did you see that!' Buttercup said as she put the curtain back. 'That guy has enough guns to take over a small country.' 

'I don't like it, why would he have some many weapons if he was so strong?' Blossom asked herself, but got a reply from Buttercup none the less.

'Well why don't you ask him, he's coming up the drive right now.'

'I intend to ask him Buttercup, I sure do.'

* * *

They were now all sitting in the living room, each waiting for someone to start the conversation and none wishing to be first to speak. In the end it was Blossom who broke the silence with the first question. 

'Why are you here?' A simple question but even Blossom did not know how important it really was.

'Why do you think I am here?' Stephen answered with a question, which is no answer at all.

'I guess you came here to defeat William Angelo.' Blossom said.

'To tell the truth that's not why I am here.' Both truth and lie told as one. 'I can't beat William Angelo; I came to help you three do that.'

'What do you mean you can't beat William?' Buttercup said. 'We saw your fight with him, and you kicked his butt!'

'Tell me did you do any research on me after that fight?' Stephen asked this question almost off handily, but his eyes showed this question was very important to him.

'Well no but we were going to… eventually.' Blossom said, taking her eyes off Stephen and thus missing the look of relief in his eyes.

'Then I can save you the trouble.' Stephen leaned back and started to tell his story. 'You saw my final fight, and how I stopped the device using my own body to absorb the energy?' The girls all nodded. 'Well I may have stopped the device but it still did its job on me… but that's getting ahead of myself. Do you know how I got my powers?'

'Someone told us it was a government project, some kind of do it yourself hero.' Bubbles said as she remembered what Barry had said.

'Well that is true; I am the result of a government project, two of them in fact. The first was "Project: wolf pack" which started me on the road to been a hero.' Stephen closed his eyes as he thought back on the past. 'The government wanted to make a group of elite soldiers, taking unwanted babies and training them from the start. We were given special treatments and trained almost non-stop with the ultimate goal of becoming the best. And I was the one who showed the greatest potential, stronger, faster and more skilled then any of my fellow "Wolf pack".

'The project lasted eighteen years and by the end of it only thirty of the original forty subjects were still alive. Ten died because of our "special treatment." The project was overall a success, but it was decided that it would not be repeated due to ethical reasons. So it was that "wolf pack" was broken up and its subjects sent to different areas of government. Of those I am the only living member, twenty died on mission, three died of natural causes and the other six committed suicide.

'I was moved to a new project right after "wolf pack", one of high importance. I was chosen because of my above normal skills, they felt this would make the results of their experiment even greater. Project Red, the work of Mary Stevens and Henry De-joule…'

'Hey they have the same last names as your name.' Bubbles broke in, unable to contain herself when she made a realisation like that. Stephen opened his eyes again and looked at her, a small smile creeping across his face as he looked at Bubbles.

'Yes it is, I was named after them you see.' Stephen continued. 'In "Wolf pack." You were not given a name but a number; I was operative fifteen-X-nine-G1 for most of my life. But in "project Red" I was named after the scientists who worked with me. In a way they became my parents, looking after me and turning me into a true hero.'

'How did thy do that?' Professor Utonium asked. He had never heard of Henry De-joule or Mary Stevens or any of the projects Stephen had mentioned.

'Well it was mostly down to the recreation of an old project… tell me John have you ever heard of the super soldier program?' Stephen was not surprised when the Professor's eyes lit up the moment he had finished speaking.

'Yes!' Professor Utonium yelled out. 'That was the project which created Captain America…'

'Captain who?' Buttercup asked and only got puzzled looks from both of her sisters.

'… But I thought that the formula had been lost in a fire.' Professor Utonium had not even heard Buttercup, he just kept talking.

'Yes it was lost, but Henry and Mary managed to remake it with a lot of effort.' Stephen said. 'That combined with all of the latest procedures, cybernetic implants, drug treatments, gene therapy and even some magic was used to make me as powerful as possible.'

'Oh please don't tell me that they tried such a foolish thing as magic in such a scientific experiment.' Professor Utonium said. 'We all know there is no such thing a true magic, science has shown us everything we need to know.'

'I have to agree with the Professor, there is no such thing as magic.' Blossom said.

'You better not believe that, because if you do we might be in very big trouble.' Stephen looked at them all with eyes of steel. 'Magic is very real, and William Angelo commands it. If it was not for the magic in me I would never have stood against him, it made me immune to his powers so that I could fight him as an equal.'

'Yeah Blossom there is such a thing as magic.' Bubbles said sternly, which was very unusual for her. 'What do you think Him uses to fight us?'

'That's completely different, Him is a demon and…' Blossom started to explain but Stephen held up a hand to stop her, she still tried to continue speaking but Stephen's eyes told her not to. The room went quiet as Stephen continued to stare at Blossom, and for a time it seemed no one would speak, but quietly Stephen started talking again.

'I do not know what William is but a mortal man he is not I can tell you that. Is he a demon? Possible but I know not for sure, I only know he has true magic and if you don't think he does he will crush you under his boot heel with no effort.' Stephen paused a moment to see if anyone has anything else to say and simply nodded when he got nothing but silence. 'Now as I was saying, I am the result of these two projects but now I have little of "project Red" in me. The device took all of my powers away from me as it had been built to do, leaving me with what I earned on my own and nothing more. This is why I can't fight William any more and why I retired from been a super hero, I have no special powers left. But I am an expert on the enemy and I still have my skills from "wolf pack" so I can still help beat William… but I can't do it alone.'

'So you want us to fight for you, to defeat William Angelo.' Blossom said.

'No need to worry because kicking butt is what we do best.' Buttercup said. 'All we need is for leader girls here to come up with a plan and we can get moving. Something better then waiting for the bad guy to make the first move.'

'Wait you mean to tell me you have not figured out what William is doing?' Stephen looked shocked as the Power Puff Girls all shook their heads. 'You know what he has done so far and even saw the last fight and still you have no clue as to what he is up to… amazing.'

'Well then Mr Know-it-all, why don't you tell us what he is planning then?' Buttercup said folding her arms and giving Stephen a look which would have made most people cringe in fear.

'He stole a computer from Cyberdine; don't tell me you did not know it was the same super computer which controlled the device.' As soon as Stephen said this Blossom realised what was going on, and why she had felt the folks at Cyberdine had not been totally honest with her.

'I knew they were not telling us the whole story.' Blossom said, earning a confused look from Stephen. 'Sorry, it's a long story, but at least now I know what William is planning.'

'Care to enlighten us Blossom?' Buttercup asked.

'William is obviously trying to rebuild the device he was working on when Stephen stopped him the first time.' Blossom said. 'He wants to carry on where he left off, where he was finally stopped twenty-four years ago.'

'Very good.' Stephen had been nodding the whole time Blossom had been talking, agreeing with everything she had to say. 'Now I can tell you which part he will go for next, the power core. He seems to be collecting the device parts in the order he made them, first the computer… then the power core, finally the device it's self. And I also know where the power core is been held…'

'Been held, surely they destroyed it if it's so dangerous!' Blossom shouted. The idea that something designed to either take away every hero on earth's power or to destroy the entire solar system was still kept around was ludicrous. But Blossom did not know that William held influence even when he was in jail, and that the greed of men sometimes blinded them to the truth.

'The device is still around all right.' Stephen said. 'It was split into its main components but otherwise no damage was ever done to it.'

'But why?' Bubbles asked.

'At first it was to be used as evidence against William Angelo, later on it was used for profit.' Stephen said.

'Now hang on a moment…' Professor Utonium got out of his seat and walked over to Stephen De-joule, wagging his finger at him the whole time. 'I know that you think it was for profit but I know the very scientists who worked on those parts, it was to push forward human knowledge and not for anything as petty as greed.' The Professor expected no reply to this, he felt like he had one the argument right at the start. But Stephen calmly spoke and blew it all away.

'Is that so? "I am the destroyer of worlds." Is that not what was said by a scientist?' Stephen gave professor Utonium ample time to answer but received nothing. 'Scientists have a habit of putting their sins on the fact it was for the good of the human race… the increasing of its knowledge. That is the same thing the scientists who work on the power core say, they work for a company once under Angelo enterprises and earn an awful of money. Last I checked their main goal was turning the power core into a weapon, after all the company is a munitions corporation. Their second goal is a new power source to replace fossil fuels.' Stephen stopped there, never taking his hard eyes off Professor Utonium, daring him to continue with his argument. All Professor Utonium could do is make a meek apology before he went to sit back down again.

'Where is the power core then?' Blossom asked.

'If I tell you what will you do?' Stephen said.

'Smash it to pieces!' Buttercup smashed her fist into her open hand to demonstrate what she planned to do to the power core. She looked round to see approving faces from everyone but Stephen who looked almost in pain.

'You can not do that.' Buttercup was about ask why the hell she couldn't do that when Stephen carried on speaking. 'The core is too dangerous, if you damage it, it could lead to an explosion that would wipe most of America off the map. Besides William could always make a new one if he was forced to, if it was not for his time constraints he would do it anyway.'

'What time constraints?' Blossom asked Stephen.

'He is working on a deadline, thanks to his rather dramatic personality.' Stephen said. 'He is trying to repeat history they way he wanted it to go, down to the very date. I am almost positive he plans to activate the device the exact day he planned to use it twenty years ago. That was exactly one week after I defeated him, giving him only three days in which to build the device.

'It would take William a week at the very best to build the device from scratch, so he will steal the old parts and put them together. That means we have a chance to beat him, I am not sure exactly how to do this…' Stephen looked at Blossom and waited.

Blossom sighed, it always came down to her in the end, she was leader and everyone expected her to be perfect. Now even with this supposed military genius everything was put in front of her and it was going to Blossom job to save the day. She had hoped that maybe she could pass this one off, let the old guy have the task of beating William while she could stand back and watch, but it was not to be.

'We have a chance to catch William, I say we take it.' Blossom said after a while of thinking. 'We set a trap up for him by this power core and then grab him when he tries to steal it.'

'A fair enough plan I say.' Stephen said. 'Very well meet me tomorrow morning at "OCP" main office. I will explain everything to them and get us access, and then we just wait for William…' Stephen turned to Professor Utonium. 'I understand you dislike of guns around your daughters, but I will have to armed if I am going to fight against William… going unarmed would be suicide for me.'

'Very well but try to keep the guns as far away from my girls as you can.' Professor Utonium tried to sound strict but Stephen had taken most of the fight out of him. Stephen said nothing, just waved his hand in a "as if I would do anything else gesture." Which did nothing to ease the Professor's mind.

'What can we do in the mean time?' Buttercup asked. 'I can't stand waiting around doing nothing.'

'You could see if he has been around recently, someone might even know where he is hiding out.' Stephen rubbed his chin as he thought about the problem. 'Go to pet stores and see if anyone has been buying a large amount of young pets, puppies, kittens and the like.'

'Why would the guy who planed to destroy the world want a bunch of puppies and kittens?' Buttercup asked thinking Stephen was sending them on some wild goose chase because he did not think they were up for the real job.

'Maybe he likes animals like me!' Bubbles said, she thought that maybe this William Angelo was not such a bad guy after all… not if he liked cute animals.

'Not just Puppies and kittens, just young animals… preferably young and strong, and they are not pets for him.' Stephen said.

'What are they for then?' Blossom asked, her curious young face never leaving Stephen's. For a moment he thought he might tell her, she seemed so much older then she really was but at the last second he Stephen remembered these girls had yet to see double digits in their years.

'Best you not know, forget that I said anything.'

'Ok, but can you at least tell us what William looked like?' Blossom said. 'Everyone we ask can't even remember what he used to ware let alone what his face was like.'

'Of course I can tell you what he looked like… he looked… he… William… I…' Stephen's mouth hang open as if it waited for the words to come out but nothing more then a short whimpering noise escaped his lips. 'I can't remember, it's all black when I try to see him in my mind. Just a shadow that moves and talks...' (_Laughs?_) '…but nothing more. It seems without my powers I have fallen under William's magic as well, I can not remember him any more then the others that saw him can.' Stephen seemed deeply worried about this fact; it was as if he could not believe William had power over him even though Stephen was no longer protected by magic.

'It doesn't matter; it's the girl's bed time now.' Professor Utonium's statement was met by a universal groan from his three girls. 'Don't argue with me, your still only nine years old and have to get your rest. Now quick march!' Professor Utonium pointed towards the Power Puff Girls bedroom while the three girls floated off in the direction of their room.

* * *

'They seem like spirited young girls.' Stephen said when he and the Professor were finally alone. The Power Puff Girls had been tucked in and Miss Keane had been called to excuse the girls from school. Now the two older men sat in the living room, one a man of science and one a man of irrationality is it any wonder they never really got along? 

'Yes they are.' Professor Utonium said. 'It can be a little difficult with three "Spirited girls." Especially when they have super powers.' Stephen just grunted at this and the two were left with nothing more to say to each other. They simply sat looking at the other, waiting for something to break the awkward silence and nothing came.

'Tell me why did you tell the girls to look at pet stores?' Professor Utonium spoke up, more out of curiosity then a want to break their silence.

'It was my first mission after I was finished in "Project Red"… I was to infiltrate William Angelo's headquarters and gather Intel' about him…'

* * *

The skyscraper looked innocent on the outside, but in truth it was closer to a fortress then a place of work. Any normal spy sent in would have been killed with in a few steps of the building, and none would ever make it close to the top room. Stephen was not a normal spy, and he was skilled enough to get past even the greatest of security with out detection. It is not known if he could have done it with just his "Wolf pack" training, but I would say he could have. 

Stephen had past the outer security with ease, hacking past computer controlled defences and making his way past several guards. He could have killed them if he wanted to, it would have made the job easier for him but this was the start of his career and he planed to keep a zero fatality rate. It was something he promised the man he called father and the woman he called mother. It was a promise he kept right up to the end, and how he would pay for it.

Once inside it was the work of seconds to sneak past cameras and laser beams to reach the ventilation shaft. This was still a secure route; he had to pass several traps and sensors before he could reach the top floor and William Angelo's office. (This was the same office Tommy would be shown truth, and start to scream.)

This was the first time Stephen laid eyes on the true William Angelo, with his fake looks cast aside. No longer did her ware a black suit and have himself all neat, he saw what William looked like when he did not know the eyes of an enemy was upon him. William Looked like…

_**Rain, rain go away come again another day. Love is hate, hate is love, and I will shoot the little white dove. One, two three stand by me. The laughing man sees all!**_

_(Author: I fear, dear reader, that even I am not immune to William Angelo's power, I can not write a word of sense when I try to describe him. For now know William Angelo has a face, and in time it will show.)_

Stephen took a moment to see his enemy; he was sitting cross-legged watching a small dog that he had trapped in a metal cage, smiling all the while as the poor creature tried to escape.

'Come on my dear you can't give up so soon… quitters never get anywhere in life don't you know?' His voice was different, deeper and with an undertone of meanness and hate which seemed to cut through the air like a knife. The small puppy made some pleading noises, as it seemed to realize its days were coming to a very early close. William watched for a while smiling away as he listened to dogs pathetic whines. 'Sorry deary but begging will get you nowhere with me! You see I'm hungry, and also I need to do a little magic… just a little mind you, and well for that I am going to need my strength. So down the hatches, look out bellow, foods a-coming my good fellow. Yummy, yummy in my tummy!' He said this as he un-latched the cage and picked up the small dog but the scruff of its neck, lifting it high above his head. The puppy struggled for dear life but the grip was too strong, it was as doomed as a man who puts a loaded gun to his head and pulls the trigger.

William opened his mouth, which was now filled with teeth, Stephen could see them all, there must have been hundreds of little razor like teeth in his mouth that grew in size to be larger then his head had been before. The puppy stopped struggling and looked to the vent where Stephen was with a pleading face, "please save me you're the only hope I have!" it seemed to say, but Stephen could not help, he could only watch. William held the puppy up for a second more then dropped it into his mouth that was now big enough to hold the whole animal. William then closed his mouth with a loud crunching noise and the puppy met its end, the hundreds of teeth did a job on it, bits of fur and blood seemed to ooze out of his oversized mouth as he made a large effort to swallow. The whole thing went down his throat like a snake having its meal; a shape, which might have been a dog once, seemed to move down his throat and then land in his belly. His mouth shrank back to its normal size and for a moment he just sat there, then he made a loud belch.

'Pardon me.' He said with a little giggle as he cleaned his mouth, taking off the fur and blood with a snot stained handkerchief.

This was more then enough for Stephen who started his way back out of the ventilation system and outside of William's building. Once again it was mere child's play to get past security and make it to safety. When he was sure that he was not been followed, Stephen went over to the nearest ally way, doubled over and started to heave. The great hero was sick to his stomach.

* * *

'That's why I suggested they look at pet stores.' Stephen finished his story and for a moment felt his gut twist and the sickness come back. He steeled himself and was able to carry on without so much as hint of what he felt. 

'My God, William needs to eat puppies to power his magic?' Professor Utonium had far less luck of keeping his cool, his skin now white as his coat. Stephen had described the scene in perfect detail and now Professor Utonium was glad he had said nothing when his daughters were present. It was heart rending to think how Bubbles might have reacted if Stephen had told her what he had just told the Professor.

'I don't think it's just puppies, but he does need life to power some of his magic.' Stephen said. 'Anything could do, the more life it has the better. Young animals are good, but I personally think he would prefer humans but even he could not get away with that for very long.' This was all the Professor needed; now the image of William putting a screaming baby in his horribly large mouth entered the Professor's head. This was just too much for him and Professor Utonium found himself going to the hardly touched liquor cabinet. There was the gentle tinkle of glass meeting ice, then the steady pour of liquid. The smell of good scotch filled the air and the very moment it reached Stephen there was an instant reaction. The normally calm man started to twitch, his pupils dilated and a fine sweat started to appear over his entire body.

'Oh I am sorry I did not ask if you wanted something to drink.' Professor Utonium said as he turned round, clutching in his hand a tumbler of rich brown scotch whiskey. Stephen's eyes locked onto the glass, his whole being seemed totally focused on the brown liquid inside. The Professor mistook this for thirst combined with the trauma of going over the old memory.

'No thank you, I will just have a jive-cola.' These words seemed to take a huge effort, as if they weighed more then the moon and fought to leave his mouth.

'Are you sure?' Professor Utonium pointed to the cabinet filled with bottles of drink. 'I have plenty of the stronger drinks, its no trouble at all…' At this Stephen seemed to snap, jumping up to his feet and shouting so loud that he woke the girls up.

'I said I wanted a cola damn you!' He grabbed Professor Utonium by his collar and pulled him close to his face. It looked like he was about to kill Professor Utonium there and then, but his grip relaxed and he let the Professor drop back. Stephen took a moment, closing his eyes and breathing in deeply, when he opened his eyes again all the anger was gone.

'I am sorry, I should not have snapped at you… it's just that I am a little uptight about the whole situation.' Stephen said in his old calm voice, it was like he become a different person for a moment then regained himself once more.

'No need to apologise, you obviously stressed and tired.' Professor Utonium said, making sure he was a good distance away from Stephen just in case snapped again.

'Yes, I am tired.' Stephen agreed, and now actually did look close to the point of exhaustion. 'I think I will go home and rest for a while. Tell your girls I will be waiting for them tomorrow morning outside of OCP.' With that Stephen walked out of the Utonium house, with out so much as a goodbye.


	4. The first ambush

Forgotten 

Part 4

The first ambush

Three young girls stood outside of the headquarters of one the worlds largest munitions company's waiting for the sun to rise. They had been told that they would meet up with Stephen De-joule at exactly six am and spend the whole day guarding the building. Blossom had been working on a plan almost all of the night and now looked like a wreck, she had only managed an hours worth of sleep. Buttercup looked even worse, though she had gotten much more sleep… she was just not the early morning type. Just to annoy both of them, or so it seemed, Bubbles was feeling perky and perfectly rested.

"Maybe I should go and get you two some energy drinks before Stephen arrives." Bubbles said. 'It wont take a minute to find an open store if I rush.'

'Could someone please give her some sedatives or something?' Buttercup said in a half asleep voice, he head resting on the wall muffling it further.

'You're just cranky because you did not get to sleep until mid-day.' Bubbles said sticking her tongue out at Buttercup. 'You really don't know what you're missing getting up before dawn every morning. I get to hear the birds singing, the sun rising up and making the sky look pretty. I have plenty of time to make my self look beautiful, eat breakfast and anything else I want to do. You should try it more often.'

'Can you please stop talking Bubble-head?' Buttercup said. 'If I'm lucky I can catch a few extra minutes of sleep before Stephen gets here.'

'Buttercup don't call Bubbles names.' Blossom said before a gigantic yawn escaped from her mouth. 'Oh and don't go to sleep, we have to stay awake and prepared to fight William if he shows up.'

'Big deal, I could kick that pansy's butt with my eyes closed.' Buttercup said after making a tremendous effort to stand up strait and keep her eyes open. 'Any way as I see it only you have to stay awake, and if he does show his face then you can wake me up.' Blossom might have argued against this but before she could start a car pulled up beside them, the same rental car Stephen was driving.

'You girls look like crap.' Stephen said through the open window as he looked at them.

'Wow, you really know how to charm a lady.' Buttercup said putting her hand on her hips and giving Stephen the evil eye.

'Yeah its one of my many talents.' Stephen said without a drop of humour in his voice. The car door swung open and Stephen stepped out of it, his trench coat once again showing more guns then you would need to fight a war. 'Ok then kiddies what's the plan?'

'It's a simple one really; we are going to ambush William when he tries to take the power core from the main vault.' Blossom said. 'I all ready sorted everything out with OCP, they gave me complete control of the building for the whole day. So I have had every single entrance and exit sealed off apart from one, a direct route from here to the main vault where the power core is kept. If William wants to get it he has to go through these doors, and down the route I set up. Everything has been alarmed and tuned to our communicator watches so there is no chance he can get past us. Oh that reminds me.' Blossom reached into her dress pocket and pulled out what looked like a normal watch with a few extra controls.

'A watch?' Stephen asked when Blossom handed the watch over to him.

'Not just a watch, it's a communicator and tracking device that the Professor built for us.' Blossom explained. 'The controls are easy enough and the range on them is incredible.'

'Very James Bond.' Stephen said as he put the watch around his wrist. 'And the plan sounds good, if you really did plan for everything and can keep an eye out… but just in case I think I am going to wait in the vault its self. If William gets past you and your alarms he will have to get past me if he wants that core.' Stephen said nothing more as he went inside the OCP building leaving the girls outside.

'The nerve of that guy thinks he's so big just because he was a hero once.' Buttercup said after Stephen had gone. 'There is no way William will get past us and even if he could he would set off twenty alarms just opening the door.'

'Leave it Buttercup, Stephen's way is just different from ours… he is more militaristic then we are that's all.' Blossom said.

'There is something I don't like about that guy, I just can't put my finger on it.' Buttercup said.

'He seems sad to me.' Bubbles said from nowhere. 'His eyes always look ready to burst into tears, his voice is always so low and he strains just to smile.' But both Buttercup and Blossom ignored what Bubbles had said.

'The sun is up and we can't stay out in the open girls, if we do William will see our ambush.' Blossom said. 'Let's go get into position and wait for William to make his move.'

* * *

It had been three hours and so far there was no sign of William, or anyone else for that matter. Stephen called ever hour to check what was happening and apart from that there was very little to alleviate the girls' boredom. Buttercup had nodded off at least three times and Blossom had found herself falling asleep a couple of times. Bubbles was still been irritatingly perky; trying to get them to play games with her while they waited.

'I wish this guy would just show up so we can get into some action.' Buttercup had made this complaint so many times it had lost all meaning. 'If I had known the stakeout was going to be this dull I would have brought my game-dude.'

'You don't need a game-dude to have fun, we could play twenty questions!' Bubbles said.

'Or I could pull off one of my arms and beat myself to death with it… no scratch that I could just beat you to death.' Buttercup made a playful grab at Bubbles who jumped back and hid behind Blossom.

'Fine sit there and be bored!' Bubbles again stuck her tongue out and then went to lie down and look up at the clouds.

'Would you two try to be quiet, this is meant to be an ambush.' Blossom said without taking her eyes off the road William would have to walk up if he wanted to get into OCP.

'This is terminally dull leader-girl.' Buttercup stood up stretching her arms and wincing at the stiffness in her joints. 'At least Stephen will call in ten minutes to break some of the monotony of this job.'

'We just have to wait a little longer girls, William has a time limit while we don't.' Blossom said. 'It's only a matter of time before we see him face to face, and then we should have all the action you could ever want Buttercup.'

* * *

Professor Utonium sat at his desk sipping his coffee and reading over notes for his latest project. The red document was marked "Classified, project RRR. For authorised eyes only!" but most of the inside was blank, there was a lot of work to go into this project yet. It was while Professor Utonium was adding notes to this document he heard the chime of the conference computer. Looking over the top of the paper he could see the normally blank screen now had "incoming message" in blue letters.

'Now who would be calling at a time like this?' Professor Utonium said as he got up from his desk. 'Computer allow communication.' When the Professor had said this, the black screen changed to show a man with medium length brown hair, small glasses and the look of a scientist.

'Professor Utonium I hope this is not a bad time…' The man said.

'Hal it's been a long time, and no it's not a bad time.' Professor Utonium said taking a seat in front of the screen.

'Sorry about not making that conference last year, the one about those boys… I was busy.' Hal pushed his glasses back on his face as they started to slip. 'But I want you to know I worked non stop on it, but it just was not my area of expertise. Of course I will help all I can on your latest project to make up for it.'

'Hal there is no need to worry, I know you tried and so did a lot of others.' Professor Utonium could see the relief on his friends face. 'But is that all you called for, to say sorry for missing the meeting?'

'No that's not the only reason I called…' Hal bit his lip and let out a loud sigh before he went on. 'The reason I am calling was because my lab was looted two days ago…'

'That's horrible!' Professor Utonium said. 'I hope they did not take too much from you.'

'That's the odd thing they only took some stealth camouflage-suits and projectors I was working on. Everything else in the lab was left completely untouched. I thought I should warn you that you might be facing someone with my stealth technology.'

'Why would you think I would be the one to see your stealth suits?' When Professor Utonium asked Hal just became tongue tied, going over useless information over and over again. 'Hal you're babbling, please calm down and try to tell me what you know.'

'I'm sorry Professor I am a little nervous about the whole thing, I think I will let a friend of mine explain to you… its best you don't know his name.' Hal moved to one side and flicked a switch which activated another of the Professor's monitors. The face on this one seemed to be the very opposite of Hal's, a much older man who looked like he belonged in a war-zone rather then a laboratory.

'Otacon why the hell do I have to do this?' The man asked in a voice of a confirmed smoker, thick and sounding ready to cough at any moment.

'Sorry Snake but I just can't get my thoughts strait.' Hal said.

'Fine, oh and thanks for not using my name.' Snake said, causing doctor Emerich to go red and mutter a meek apology. 'Well I better get on with this.' Snake said with only a small sigh. 'Professor, Hal told you his lab was raided but he did not tell you how professional this job was. I know something about sneaking missions, and after I had a look round I could find no clues… whoever did this is better then me. It was actually dumb luck which put me on some sort of a lead, the rest I am going on guess work. Whoever came here managed to sneak in without setting off a single alarm, I accidentally found how.' Snake did not bother to mention he had found it by falling over and opening a control panel with his head. 'A perfect reroute of all alarms, setting it into a continuous loop. From there the intruder somehow managed to turn off the alarms in the lab remotely and leave no damage when they opened the doors… I still don't know how they did that one. They managed to get past both me and Otacon, and without even using a cardboard box…'

'A cardboard box?' Professor Utonium asked.

'Don't ask John, Snake can go on for hours about the importance of cardboard boxes in all assets of life.' Hal said.

'That's because they are damn important, why I can't the number of agents whose life was saved because of the humble cardboard box!' Snake said so seriously professor Utonium was worried he was not joking. 'But none of that matters right now, what does is that whoever did this job is the best I have ever seen. If they had not left evidence on purpose I would still have no clue as to who did it.'

'What evidence did you find?' Professor Utonium asked, already he knew the answer and dreaded its coming.

'A single black rose coated in the worst poison known to man.' Snake said. 'It was well hidden but I did find it, nearly killed myself with it. I did not find that out until Otacon researched it a bit, I am guessing you know what we found out from the look on your face. William Angelo, the guy who is making a name for himself where you are was the same guy who stole Otacon's stealth suits.'

'Thank you for the warning, I will try and take some precautions for someone with stealth technology…'

'Professor it's not the suits I would be worried about, more the person who has them.' Snake continued. 'This lab was not exactly Fort Knox but it had a damn impressive security system, and this William guy got through it with ease. Not bad considering all the techniques he used seem to be outdated…'

'Outdated, what do you mean by that?'

'Well most of these methods are at least twenty years out of date, I know of a lot more modern ways to gain access to a place but so far I have found no evidence for any of them been used here.'

'That makes sense; William has spent the last twenty years in jail. He would not know any of the modern methods of infiltration.' The Professor said.

'Well I said my piece, now I am going for a smoke.' Snake's screen instantly went black leaving all the screens to go back to Hal.

'Those things will be the death of him… that or guns, fox-die, cyborg ninjas or large bipedal tanks.' Hal said. 'Umm you should forget that last thing I said.'

'Sure Hal.'

'Well I ought to go John, I still have something's to do here… oh and I will send my input on the triple R project as soon as I can.' Hal said. 'Please be careful John, if Snake says this guy is dangerous I think you should consider him the most dangerous man alive.'

'Don't worry Hal; I plan to be very careful from now on.' When Professor Utonium said this Hal nodded and then his screen went as blank as the others. Now alone Professor Utonium had time to reflect on what he had learned, could it be William was even more dangerous then they had thought he was?

* * *

'Yo Bubbles it's your turn on guard.' Buttercup said as she leaned over Bubbles shoulder. 'Hey wake up Bubble head, where is all that energy you had?' Buttercup then noticed what Bubbles was looking at so intently, a single black and white newspaper clipping. The photo was one of three young boys smiling happily as they came out of Pokey-oaks elementary school. The head line could just be seen above the photo, "Rowdy Ruff Boys help save the day!" and the date showed it had been taken just after the fall of the great prison.

'Hmm… oh sorry Buttercup I wasn't paying attention.' Bubbles eyes seemed to come back into focus as she looked up at Buttercup.

'It's your turn on watch.' Buttercup said simply, seeing that picture had stirred feeling deep inside of her she thought had gone. It had only been a little while ago that Butch had died in her arms after he had sacrificed himself killing his alter-ego Blaze. She now wished that she had a picture like that one, the boys had been around for so little time no one had even thought to take a photograph of them… and now it was too late.

'Ok then.' Bubbles said in a cheerful voice as she put the picture away and went over the building ledge to watch for William Angelo. It could not have been three minutes after this when the girls heard the gun fire from inside OCP. The constant rattle of some kind of machine gun, followed quickly by some explosions and then complete silence.

'Stephen what was that!' Blossom shouted into the communicator watch waiting for some sort of response. 'Stephen report!' She shouted again when she got nothing back but static.

'What are we waiting for we have to check this out.' Buttercup said already flying towards OCP's main doors.

'I don't understand, no alarms have gone off and we have yet to see any body go anywhere near the building… who could be shooting in there and what were they shooting at?' Blossom asked herself.

'There's only one way to find out Blossom.' Bubbles said, and together they flew into the OCP building, setting off all the alarms as they did.

* * *

The vault was a mess, bullet-holes in every wall and huge blast marks that had been made from high explosives. Lying face down in the middle of it all was Stephen De-joule, his guns laid out next to him and only the slight movement of his chest showing he was alive. Bubbles was the first to react going over to Stephen to see if he was all right, Buttercup was next to move when she went to the stand where the power core had been left. When she got there she saw the power core was now gone, replaced by a single black rose which was more deadly then the guns at Stephen's feet.

'Mr De-joule are you ok?' Bubbles asked when she reached him. She gently turned him face up and noticed a small trickle of blood coming down from his forehead, it looked like someone had hit him over the head with something hard. Stephen's eyes seemed to flicker for a moment and then he bolted up to his feet pulling out one of his pistols as he did.

'William!' He shouted as he swung the gun round in an arch searching for the man he had been fighting moments ago. 'Where did he… girls?' Stephen looked confused as he finally noticed the Power Puff Girls were with him.

'Stephen was William here?' Blossom asked as Stephen put his gun away again and put one hand to his head.

'Yes.' Stephen said. 'I tried to shoot him, I unloaded whole clips and hit nothing but air… then I tried to use plasma grenades but the energy just bounced off him.'

'This is impossible, we were watching the doors the whole time and he never went through them, and none of the alarms tripped so he could not have gotten in here.' Blossom said as Buttercup pointed to the black rose, the evidence which said she was wrong.

'He never tripped your alarms because he did not follow the route you set out for him.' Stephen said, now he was holding a tissue to his head trying to stop the slow trickling flow of blood.

'But I sealed all the other possible routes off; there was no other way to go!' Blossom was now starting to sound more like she was whining then anything else.

'Did you know about this route?' Stephen walked with a slight stagger, almost like a drunk man. He placed both his hands on the ground taking a grip on one of the large metal panels and pulled with all his might. His face went red and his muscles strained as he pulled on the metal slab, if he had been unlucky he might have had a heart attack then and there. But his luck held and the panel lifted up revealing a dark hole in the floor.

'A secret tunnel… cool.' Buttercup said as she looked down the black hole in the ground.

'It must lead to the sewer system.' Stephen said. 'He came up through here and surprised me, and I guess this is the way he went.'

'He can't be far ahead… Buttercup your with me, Bubbles stay with Stephen and help him with his wound.' Blossom said, finding the leader in herself once more.

'If you find William you will want to be all together, Bubbles should go with you.' Stephen said. 'I just have a bump on my head, easy enough to take care of… go.' Stephen did not bother hanging around for an argument; he simply left the vault still holding his head.

'You heard him girls, lets go!' Blossom ordered as the three sisters flew into the dark hole from which a monster had sprung forth, and may still be waiting.


	5. The sewers

Forgotten 

Part 5

The sewers

The sewers in Townsville are like a maze, created seemingly randomly and left alone unless something goes wrong. It is true people had come down here and never came back, there were things hiding in these pipes that were best left unfound. There was only ever one person who could walk these sewers safely and that was because even the darkest creatures feared him. The sewer was like a second home to the thing that thought it fit to name its self "William Angelo" as if it were a human. It was for this reason the Power Puff Girls had no hope of ever catching him, not unless he wanted to be caught. Stephen could have told them this, but he wanted them to suffer. He felt they had failed and let William win and so should be punished, a nice walk through the drains should just about do it for him.

'I don't like this place, it's too dark…' Bubbles said as she hovered above the foulest smelling water she had ever been forced close to. Everything in this place seemed to reject everything that was essentially Bubbles. There were no colours, no light, no fresh air and no joy here… and as for laughter; well this place would warp it closer to screaming.

'Oh don't tell me you're still afraid of the dark bubble-head.' Buttercup said as she noticed a rat run past her feet, the thing looked bigger then a dog and for a moment its red eyes had flashed at her.

'I can't help it, this place is tres creepy.' Bubbles said. 'Don't call me Bubble-head!' Bubbles said after he mind had time to reprocess what Buttercup had said.

'I will stop calling you it when you stop been one.'

'Will you two give it a rest, I am trying to figure out which way he went.' Blossom said as she examined the ground where the pipes split off into two directions. They had been following no trail so far, it was all just guess work based on the easiest route. This was a mistake; they had skipped many directions because the pipes were too small for any man to get through. But if William was truly down here size would be no problem for him, he would simply take the form of a low creature and move on. Right this minute there could be a hissing snake, a scuttling spider, a scurrying rat or some other ugly thing that was escaping the girls and heading back to the world of light.

'Well leader girl which way?' Buttercup asked after Blossom had stopped talking for a good five minutes. Normally Buttercup would take the time when Blossom was actually been quiet as a gift from God. It seemed Blossom's mouth could run everlastingly and actually put Buttercup into a coma like state.

'I have no idea.' Blossom said at last shocking both of her sisters. 'Honestly I have not got a clue, it's like he never even came down here. There are no foot prints, no markings, no finger prints and no clues! It's impossible, even flying we left some evidence for us been down here.'

'Chill Blossom.' Buttercup said as she grabbed her sisters' shoulders. 'This William guy has magic powers; maybe he made the evidence… I don't know… disappear?'

'You mean he some how made evidence just, poof, vanish?' Bubbles asked.

'Well he made a super computer do the same thing, and remember Barry told us about evidence always vanishing before William could be put on trial.'

'I have one more question… how do we get back?' Bubbles said.

Blossom and Buttercup just stared at each other as they realised they were completely lost down here. They had been so intent on following William they had never even spared a thought for where they were going and how to get back. As I said these sewers could lead to anywhere in town, and sometimes even beyond it to places even monsters have nightmares about. Blossom had done a project on these sewers once and knew how dangerous they could be, you just had to ask Harry Gregory…

* * *

'If you could please tell the story Mr Gregory.' Blossom said as she started the recorder off.

'You recording this whole thing then?' Harry Gregory asked when he saw Blossom put the thing on the table.

Harry was an old man now, over sixty years old and showing his age more drastically then he should do. His hair was completely white with not a single hint of colour, and about as thick as a baby's hair. His face was a road map of wrinkles and he was blind in one eye.

'If you don't mind, it makes it easier for my report.' Blossom said.

'Sure as heck I don't mind, if it's for school work I don't mind a jot.' Harry said. 'Tell me are them sisters of yours doing reports same as you girl?' Harry said, the interest glinting off his one good eye.

'Umm yes they are…'

'Good, you tell them they can come talk to me anytime they want.' Harry said. 'Specially that blonde one.'

'Err sure I will tell them.' Blossom had no plans to tell them anything like that; maybe she would tell Bubbles to avoid this guy. 'Now if you could tell the story like you told me.'

'Oh I will do better then that girl, I'm going to tell you the whole damn truth and nothing but the truth.' Harry said with his smile slowly falling away. 'The lies weigh heavy on me girl, think tis bout time I told someone the truth and I think you 'aint going to like me much after it. But here it goes; it all started when I was working for the city as an engineer…'

* * *

'Hey Hairy how you holding up back there?' Kevin shouted from up ahead, the guy was running down these damn tunnels like a kid on speed or something. (Truth was that old Harry was almost sure he was doing something like that, but he never voiced his opinion.)

'I am holding up just fine ya damn nut-ball!' Harry shouted back as he ran his walked through the sludge, a lamp held out in front of his face giving just enough light to see with.

'Good to hear it Hairy!' Kevin's voice came from further down the pipe, his light just visible to Harry.

'Kev will you stop calling me Hairy, the name is Harry!' Harry shouted as he stumbled over something in the water, nearly going face first into the brown liquid.

'I'll stop calling you Hairy Gregory the day you shave that thing off your face and ditch the mullet hairstyle.' Kevin had stopped running and now was waiting for his friend to catch up with him.

'First this beard is not that out of control, it's not like Father Christmas or anything like that. Second I will have you know I think I look very dashing with this hair cut.' Harry said.

'Well hurry up Hairy, if we don't get this block sorted out people are going to remember nineteen-eighty-two as the year every toilet in Townsville exploded. And you know who will get the blame? Not the idiots who designed this damn maze, not the Mayor who can't be bothered to have the thing scrapped and re-built. Nope they will blame one dashing, suave, handsome and charming twenty year old called Kevin Landers and the ageing, ugly, hairy ape man of thirty nine called Harry Gregory.'

'If you are twenty years old I will lick the crap off this floor.' Harry said when he finally caught up with his friend.

'Well I am so close to twenty it hardly matters…'

'Oh yeah then show me your driving licence and we will see just how close you... ouf!' Harry stopped talking as he walked right into the back of Kevin. 'Ya damn idiot why in the Sam-hill did you stop like that, I could have sent us both nose first into the crap.'

'Harry do you see what I see?' Kevin's voice had lost all its joviality and become so serious that Harry felt worried for the first time since they had come down into the sewers.

Harry moved his lamp up and looked in the direction that Kevin was pointing in; as soon as he did he could feel his blood run cold. There was a second tunnel here, one that seemed to go deeper into the earth and had no refuse flowing down it. What it did have was bones, hundreds… no thousands of bones varying in size and shape. The floor was covered in the white sticks that had once been held inside living things, now tossed aside. The lump in Harry's throat felt like an apple someone had pushed down there, and he had to make a huge effort to take in a single gasp of air so he could talk again.

'Let's go see what there is to see Kev.' Harry said as he started to walk down the tunnels littered with the remains of the dead. He was almost at its mouth when a hand grabbed his shoulder making him jump three feet in the air and scream so loudly people on the surface could just about hear him.

'Jesus Harry are you an idiot?' Kevin asked. 'Look at that place, its nothing but for the dead. If you go down there you might just find what the heck killed all these things and we don't have anything to fight with. Have you not seen a horror film before? The guys who go investigating with nothing but flash lights always end up dead!' Harry at that time had never seen a horror film, even though he heard they were getting popular right about then. Later in life he would actively avoid them because of this day, but you could never truly avoid the media. One day in the video shop he looked at some posters and shouted out loud. "It's him!" Before he ran from the shop screaming. The posters had been for two films, one had a picture of Freddy Kruger and the other a picture of Jack Nicholson as the Joker.

'Look if there is something dangerous down here it's our duty to check it out.' Harry said. 'It's probably a wild dog or something like that, and from the age of the bones I think the thing is long dead any how. If it'll make you feel any better you can wait here while I go and see what's down there.'

'No way buddy, if you are going down there then so am I.' Kevin said as he swallowed hard. 'You're right it's probably nothing and we can just laugh about it later.'

The two started to walk slowly down the sewer, wincing at the noise of the old bones snapping under the weight of their boots. They both noticed that the deeper they went the darker it got for them, it seemed like the blackness was absorbing the light they had and was leaving them blind. This was impossible, the lights stayed as bright the whole way but somehow it just kept getting darker as they walked on. Harry could never remember how far they had walked before they heard it, but it must have been at least a mile. The silence was shattered by what at first they thought was screaming, a long echoing scream from depths of this pipe.

'Holy mother of God Harry it sounds like some ones been killed down there!' Kevin said as he started to run down the tunnel. 'Hold on helps on the way!' Kevin's voice echoed through the pipe but it twisted and Harry could swear he heard it as. "Hold on dinner is on the way!" when it came back to him.

'Hey Kevin wait up!' Harry shouted as he gave chase, running down the sewer closer to where the screaming came from. It was while he was running that Harry realised that it was not screaming he heard but laughter, a horrible laugh that made his stomach turn over. They both came to a stop far too late; they were now in the sight of the source of the laughter. Standing in the tunnel was what looked like a man dressed in robes and a hood, five small fires burning around him floating above the bones.

'Well what do we have here?' His voice was cracked with a hate that covered itself with friendliness. 'Looks like I have some guests, what a pleasure, what a joy and what a laugh! Come and sit, we may talk of many things, of ships and sails and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings! I never could remember that right you know, damned if I could because my memory runs out my ears like soup so it does.

'Oh I am sorry I am been a bad host, and there is no excuse for that now is there? Thought not. Sit my boys, sit and stay… I don't like Mondays, tell me why? I love that song don't you? Or has it yet to be written, I can never tell 'cause my memory just leaks out my ears… oh there I go again.' The robed figure chuckled, a sound closer to a dieing man choking then anything else.

'My God what is he?' Kevin said as he found that he could speak once again, Harry found he could do nothing more then make worthless noise as he looked at the cloaked man.

'I am glad you asked that question Kevin my boy, I thought it would good old Hairy here who would ask but a pie is as good as an eye I say!' The very words seemed to reverberate through the air, causing the men's bones to become cold and their blood to freeze in their veins. I can not tell you how this is so, if you were to hear him you would tell no difference from this voice and any other… but yet he held power and it was undeniable. 'Kevin my boy I will tell you what I am, I… am… **HUNGRY!**' The last word shot out of his mouth like venom, what little humanity that had been in his voice shattered and something truly monstrous came out instead. It was as the inhuman word came out that the hood fell back and showed its owners to the two men. Harry would never forget that face, even on his dieing day whenever he closed his eyes that face would be there laughing at him. You see the man had no face, and it looked natural as if such a creature as he was never meant to have a face.

It was never known who screamed first, the chaos that followed swallowed that memory whole but both men broke down in the end. They were terrified by what they saw, the ghoul that laughed at them defied logic and reason so only left terror in its wake. Harry could remember starting to turn to run, to try and escape the monster but before he could the thing spoke again.

'Leaving so soon, and here I made dinner plans for us all! Now boy it would be oh so very rude to leave, and there is never an excuse for been rude. Why I should take you both to the woodshed and give you a whoopin' that will tan your hides. But I be a gracious host and as such will only insist on one of you staying with me, where we may dance the Tango and discuss whether or not Clapton is a better guitarist then Hendrix. So my amigos who will be staying with me, who will have a laugh and half before supper time?'

It was then that Harry did something he felt guilty for his entire life, the moment he marked in his life as the lowest thing he ever did. He grabbed Kevin by the neck and tossed him back to the faceless one, without a second thought. He watched as horror shot across Kevin's face as he tumbled into the laughing mans open arms, where he was embraced like an old lover. Then Harry ran for all he was worth, running from the faceless one, running from Kevin's screams for help then screams of death, running from the laughter and the guilt. He never out ran any of them in the end, they always caught up with him.

* * *

'I spent two days in them sewers, two days where I stumbled around half mad trying to escape from that monster. They found me and brought me to the surface, I have never been so happy to see the sun and be out of the stink of them sewers girl. I told them that me and Kevin had got lost and Kevin had fallen down a pipe, that he was dead and they believed me. They looked for him, and never found him or that tunnel of bones.' Harry was now crying, the truth finally out was relief to him but the old memories hurt him now as much as they had done twenty years ago. 'You know what girl, if your sisters be doing a project tell them to do it on something else other then them sewers… they have things down there that don't rest easy.'

'Thank you Mr Gregory but I really should be going now…' Blossom was now worried she had pushed the old man to far, forcing him to tell his story had somehow driven him to tell some old horror story of his. Now she would never be able to separate fact from fiction, she would have to base the whole project off the original records. Blossom was still thinking this when Harry's arm shot out and grabbed her own, holding it with a strength she never thought a man of his age could possess.

'The worst thing was the face; he had no damn face… I mean he had eyes and a mouth and a nose but he had no face… he even had skin but he had no face!' Harry's eyes were wide with terror as if he could not see Blossom anymore but his faceless horror from long ago. 'I hear him laugh in my dreams, I hear him and he says that the laughing man lives. Oh god I wish I was dead, just so I could sleep again… Kevin can sleep but I never will because of what I did. Dear Jesus what did I do?'

* * *

Now floating in the darkness of the sewers that story suddenly did not feel so much like an old mans rambling and sounded like the truth. Could it be they had come across William Angelo down in these sewers, the dates did fit. It would have truly chilled Blossom if she had known that she stood only twenty feet from the very tunnel where Harry "Hairy" Gregory had shouted to a now dead friend "I am holding up just fine ya damn nut-ball!".

'Blossom you do know the way back right?' Buttercup asked Blossom.

'Well I know it's in this direction, just not the specific route we have to take to get back… I don't suppose you remember it?' Blossom looked at both of her sisters and both of them shook their head. 'Oh great, well I guess we should start walking…'

* * *

There was a large pile of empty Jive-cola cans next to his seat, a pyramid consisting entirely of used cans. Stephen De-joule had shown a huge love for cola, drinking the stuff by the case full with out slowing down. The second he finished a can it went into the pile and he opened the next one up. The man must have now finished over twenty cans and it had only been four or five hours since he had started to drink them. The Professor was now measuring the time by how many cans Stephen had drank, it was better then watching the clock and waiting for his girls to come back.

'Where are they?' Professor Utonium shouted out at last, as Stephen put down another can and started opening a new one the very same second.

'As I see it there are two possibilities right now.' Stephen took a large gulp of the soda drink and then went on talking. 'The first is they are still searching the sewers which are messing around with those watch things you made them. The second possibility is they found William Angelo and they are lying dead in said same sewers most likely with bullet holes in their heads.' As soon as Stephen said this professor Utonium went as white as sheet, he did not even notice Stephen's sly smile as he saw the reaction he had caused.

'That's impossible, refuse to believe my babies are dead!' Professor Utonium yelled at Stephen. 'They are superheroes; I doubt a gun could ever do more then given them a slight itch! If they were really in any danger Blossom would have made them retreat and head back for home with out a second thought.'

'I say believe what you want, but I do know William's gun could kill those girls as easy as a normal gun would kill a normal man.' Stephen said very calmly. 'I have seen that pistol put holes through heroes made of much tougher stuff then your daughters are made of, that revolver is not of our world and as such does not follow its rules.'

It was while Stephen finished the latest can of Jive-cola that three young girls walked into the Utonium house. They smelled like a septic tank, their clothes looked like they came from a charity bin and they all looked sick and tired. The Power Puff's were power pooped; they did not even have the energy left to hover. Stephen just watched as they came in, he was used to seeing scruffy kids and was very used to bad smells.

'My babies!' Professor Utonium started to run over to them then stopped dead in his tracks as he started to gag. The stench was overpowering, a mixture of something dead and the stuff you never wanted to talk about.

'This is great we smell worse then the Rowdy Ruff Boys did!' Buttercup said as she saw the Professor covering his nose with his jacket and backing away from them. She did not notice the slightly hurt look in Bubbles eyes when she mentioned the boys.

'Well you smell as bad as that time you refused the bathe.' Blossom said.

'We I aint refusing now, I got first dibs on the bathroom!' Buttercup turned into a streak of green light as she fired up the stairs as fast as she could move, the draining of the long trek round the sewers forgotten with the reward in her sights.

'No way I need to go in their first; my hair will be ruined if I don't treat it right away.' Blossom started running after Buttercup but half way up the stairs she heard the sound of the bathroom door locking and a bath been run. 'Buttercup!'

* * *

After all of the girls had a chance to wash and change they were all sitting in the living room once more. Stephen had finally run out of Jive-cola and now had moved on to 8-Down, though he was not drinking it with the same gusto as he had the cola. The Professor wondered where he was putting all that drink, he had yet to go to the bathroom or at the very least exploded from so much been put in his stomach.

'I am going to assume that you three did not catch William and that you did not recover the power core from him.' Stephen said. 'You know I do blame you for this mess up.' Stephen looked right at Blossom who sill had a towel wrapped around her head as her hair dried. The whole room looked at Stephen in shock as he blamed Blossom for what had gone wrong.

'That's hardly fair, I did everything I could to stop him… how was I meant to know that secret passage was there?' Blossom defended her self while Stephen just drank his can of soda.

'I knew about it, I learned about if from only a little research on the buildings history.' Stephen said. 'I assumed as a leader you had made sure to check your plan was solid and that you would know about the secret passage. I thought you must have set some of those alarms in the sewer or even blocked it off. Looks like I seriously over estimated your ability as a leader.'

'Hey you take that back, Blossom is a great leader!' Buttercup said, shocking everyone by admitting she thought Blossom was actually doing a good job. Blossom felt a moment when the guilt was gone and was replaced with love for her sister, but that lasted only a few seconds.

'I say only the truth and nothing more.' Stephen said. 'If I had been in charge then William would never have gotten into the place… did you even think to bug the power core?' Stephen's question was so sudden and out of place it took Blossom by surprise. It gave her no time to think of a real response and left the others speechless. 'Thought not, you only planed for a strait win and never even thought about losing. That is why you are a bad leader and why next time I am taking over.'

'Why you!' Buttercup flew right up to Stephen's face and shook her fist at him. 'I ought to knock you teeth out for saying that, how dare you think you're a better leader then Blossom is.'

'Buttercup stop that.' Blossom said quietly. 'Thank you for standing up for me but please leave Stephen alone, he's right about me.'

'Blossom no he's wrong about you.' Bubbles said going to her sisters' side and holding her close. 'You're a terrific leader, your smart and know what to do all the time.'

'No Bubbles I am not, I am just lucky that's all.' Blossom said. 'If I had been thinking right I would have researched the building and checked for any other way in, if I was a good leader I would have put a tracking device on the power core.' What she did not say but thought was "_If I was a good leader Brick and the others would still be here."_ But she kept that to her self.

"Blossom." That was all Bubbles could think to say as Blossom moved out of her hug and went over to Stephen.

'Stephen I hear by hand over all my powers of leadership over the Power Puff Girls to you… you're the leader now.' Blossom said.

'Ok then my first order is that you three get some rest, you looked like zombies out there this morning.' Stephen said. 'I won't have that again, you will be fully alert and ready to fight tomorrow morning.'

'What's that plan then…jerk face.' Buttercup said the last two words so quietly that Stephen completely missed them, but not the look of disgust in her eyes.

'Tomorrow we will set another ambush up and this time we will stop William Angelo.' Stephen said. 'Or we will die trying.'


	6. the second ambush

Forgotten 

Part 6

A second ambush

Dawn came and first to rise was Bubbles, she was up just as the sun came over the horizon and she felt as rested as possible. When she came out of her room she could hear Blossom's alarm clock buzzing and the sound of a very sleepy girl waking up, followed by some muffled complaint from Buttercup about the alarm going off. Sharing a room had been perfect when they were five, but now it was causing more problems then it was worth. Bubbles could wake up on her own and Blossom was fine getting up early, but Buttercup liked to sleep in. This started nearly every morning with some sort of argument, and they usually escalated from there.

Bubbles was just heading to the bathroom when she noticed that Stephen De-joule was in the living room, drinking more cola and looking at what appeared to be plans for the day's ambush. He had completely taken over the living room with maps, diagrams and reports that made it look more like a military war room then the girl's living room. Bubbles thought about calling out to him but then remembered she was dressed in just her nightie. Quickly Bubbles ran into the bathroom to start getting ready for the day.

Not long after that she heard Blossom shriek as she came out of the bedroom, looks like she had spotted Stephen.

'What are you doing in here… how did you get in?' Blossom shouted after running back into the room and putting a dressing gown on.

'We need to start early; I let myself in to start planning.' Stephen's voice was just loud enough for Bubbles to hear in the bathroom.

'But the house has a security system, one of the best you can get.' Blossom's voice was perfectly clear as she was standing by the bathroom door waiting for her turn.

'Oh that reminds me, you need a new security system.' Stephen said. 'The one you have is woefully inadequate. I hardly had to try to slip past it, and then again I am trained for such missions.'

Bubbles did not bother to listen to anymore of their conversation as she went about getting herself ready for the day.

* * *

'How long is she going to take?' Stephen was tapping his foot impatiently while he waited for the three girls to be ready. Bubbles was nearly done, she had to simply brush her hair and she would be ready. Blossom had last been seen going into the bathroom and had not been seen since, and that was an hour ago. Buttercup was yet to even get out of bed. 

'They need time is all Mr De-joule.' Professor Utonium was in need of a shave and a wash but otherwise he was up and ready. 'It's just something you get used to when you live with three pre-teen daughters; mornings are just a long chaotic affair.'

'But Buttercup has yet to even get out of bed!' Stephen said. 'It's been over an hour since sunrise surely she can get up in that time. Both of her sisters managed it, and you did as well so what's her excuse? Maybe I should go and yank her out of bed myself.' Stephen seemed to absolutely abhor the lax attitude the Power Puff Girls seemed to have in the morning. He was used to everyone been up on time, dressed and ready then briefed before the sun had finished rising.

'Don't worry there are ways of getting Buttercup to get out of bed, you just have to know them.' Professor Utonium said with a sly smile across his face. 'Oh my, what is this, it looks like a copy of "Death fighter extreme gore addition" has just arrived in the post!' Professor Utonium said this at the foot of the stairs at the second he had finished there was a green flash of light as a fully dressed and fully awake Buttercup appeared next to him.

'Gimmie, gimmie, gimmie!' Buttercup said like a petulant child as she jumped up and down with anticipation.

'Oh wait my mistake; it's just a copy of "scientist weekly" sorry about that.' Professor Utonium said. 'You're welcome to read it if you want to Buttercup.'

'I really have to stop falling for that.' Buttercup said as she crossed her arms and let out a loud yawn. 'Err why is he here?' Buttercup asked giving a quick glance at Stephen.

'You know I have a name and that I can hear you.' Stephen said. 'And as for why I am here, I thought we might try to stop William Angelo from starting the apocalypse today. What do you think, or would you like to go back to bed and hope it sorts it's self out?' Stephen's voice was so full of sarcasm even Buttercup could not match it, which made her hate him even more then before.

'I can't believe it but I think I preferred Blossom as leader, this guy is even worse then she was.' Buttercup said taking a seat just as Bubbles started to come down the stairs.

'Well that's two of them; I don't suppose you have a way of getting the third one to come down like the other.' Stephen said.

'The "Third one." Is called Blossom and my name is Buttercup.'

'Sure I know that, and when you have earned it I will call you by your name.' Stephen seemed to become more and more of a jerk as time went on. 'John is there anyway to hurry that other girl up, before William conquers the world.'

'Sorry but Blossom just takes her time, its how she looks so beautiful all the time.' Professor Utonium said without a hint of apology, but a little bit of pride that his daughter was such a beautiful girl even as young as she was.

'Vanity, time wasting… no wonder she was such a terrible leader.' As soon as Stephen said that Buttercup shot out of her chair and grabbed Stephen by the throat, pinning him to the wall and starting to choke him.

'You take that back right now or else I will…' Buttercup never got to finish her threat as Stephen's own hands worked off by pure instinct. His right hand went to her neck and his left went under her arm and drove the finger into her flesh. The reaction was instantaneous, Buttercup let go of Stephen and went as limp as a boneless fish. Stephen held on to her with his hands, crushing the nerves in such a way as to stop them sending their signals.

'You should learn to control yourself, even powerless I managed to defeat you because of your rage.' Stephen let Buttercup go, letting her drop to floor like an old rag doll. 'The effects of the nerve hold should ware off in a second, next time I might make the paralysis permanent.'

Buttercup found she could move once again, though pins and needles shot through out her entire body and her limbs felt stiff to move. For a second she thought about attacking him again, but decided it would gain her nothing but more aches and pains or a telling off for killing him. Buttercup relented for once, going back to her seat, but she made a note of this and pushed Stephen to the top of her revenge list.

* * *

Finally Blossom had finished getting ready and Stephen could start telling them the plan he had made up over night. They were all sitting round the room looking at the diagrams Stephen had drawn up along with a briefing report that was personalised for each member of the team. 

'The plan is simple enough, another ambush set up to capture William.' Stephen said. 'I all ready acquired the device's main components, the four energy towers. I have put them into separate trucks and set up a security team to guard them as we move them in a convoy.'

'Where are we moving them to?' Blossom asked, she was not used to been the one to ask about plans. It felt wrong to her and sounded wrong to everyone but Stephen.

'We are going to take them to what remains of the great prison.' Stephen said. 'Though damaged it is still the most secure location in reach, if we power it back up, man the defences and lock the four towers up in the durainium evidence lock up then we win. William could never take that place in the time he has left, so he will have to attack the convoy. You three will be in a separate truck waiting for the moment William brakes cover to try and take the device and that when we nail him. A fifth truck will have a trap John here built; I think it should be enough to hold William.'

'So we wait in the truck, then when William shows we kick his butt so you can put him in the Professor's holding device.' Buttercup said.

'Almost, you distract William while I set the device off and capture him.' Stephen said. 'You are far too weak to stand a chance in a fight with William Angelo.'

'I will show you weak!' Buttercup shouted at Stephen as she threw down her copy of the plan.

'You were put down by me with a simple nerve hold, and I have no powers of which to speak… how do you think you would fair against something that makes even your most feared enemy feel fear?' Stephen never took his gaze of Buttercup. 'You are young; you have yet to gain experience and the toughness you need to stand up as true heroes. Now if you feel like hitting me go ahead, but if not then sit down and shut the hell up.' The two stared at each other, neither willing to back down and neither showing any sign of defeat. They could have been like that until doomsday if Bubbles and Blossom had not interfered.

'Buttercup don't do it, that meanie isn't worth it.' Bubbles said taking her sisters hand. Bubbles had a sort of calming effect on the people she met, and even Buttercup could not be completely immune to her charms. It was this that let Blossom get control of Buttercup before things could get any worse.

'Stop it Buttercup, this is not the time to be fighting amongst ourselves.' Buttercup took her eyes off Stephen and looked at Blossom. 'Please sit down again.'

'No point in that, I said all I am going to… its time to get this show on the road.' Stephen said as he walked out of the living room. 'You three coming or not?'

* * *

The girls were sitting in the trailer for the truck and having a miserable time of it. There were no seats, no lights and nothing to do but wait for a signal of some kind. Every bump or turn came as a complete surprise and sent them skidding around the truck to hit the metal walls every few seconds or so. Stephen had ordered them not to use their powers in case it alerted William to where they were and so they just had to bear through the whole experience. 

'I wish Stephen had left us a flash light, its way too dark in here.' Bubbles said as they hit a pothole in the road and the three were sent head first into the closest wall.

'That Jerk would give us one with a black bulb.' Buttercup said. 'When this mission is over he is so going to find out why you should not mess with the Power Puff Girls!'

'I can't believe how mean he seemed to become over night, I mean he was not Mr Personality when we met him but now…' Bubbles just left it at that, they all knew too well what Stephen De-joule had become.

'It started after that mission, when he was knocked down by William and I messed up so badly.' Blossom said. 'Either meeting his old adversary has set off some bad emotions in him or he is disappointed in us.'

'I say it was the hit to the head that did it, scrambled his brains and turned him into jerk of the year.' Buttercup said. 'Maybe a few blows to the head will bring him around again, and I will be more then happy to deliver them to him.'

'I think he still looks sad.' Bubbles said. 'When ever he acts mean to us there never seems to be any real meanness in his eyes just that same sadness.'

'Bubbles you are full of cra…' Buttercup was stopped when her head smashed into the doors of the truck as the driver made a sharp turn. She was not alone as both of her sisters followed right after he each hitting the steel doors with the same painful results.

'I wish William would just make his move and attack all ready, then we could get out of these trucks.' Bubbles said rubbing her head as she slid across the floor towards the centre of the truck. Her wish was fulfilled half an hour later.

* * *

'Power Puff Girls please come in!' The Mayors voice came out of the darkness, from the girl's communicator watches. 

'Mayor this is Blossom, what's going on?' Blossom spoke into the watch, holding onto the door handle to stop herself moving about.

'Oh hello Blossom I was wandering if you could come round and open my pickle jar for me.' The Mayor said. 'After those nasty boys broke my jar opener it's been a real struggle to get my pickles I can tell you.'

'Mayor we are kind of busy right now, we really can't just come over and open your pickle jar for you…'

'Girls this is Ms Bellum, don't mind the mayor he's just having one of his bad days.' Ms Bellum's voice suddenly overrode the mayor's rant over how the jar was the spawn of Satan himself. 'The city is under attack and we really need your help.'

'We will be right there Ms Bellum!' Blossom said.

'No you will not.' Stephen De-joule suddenly blasted over the radio. 'I was listening in and there is no way your going. If you break cover this whole operation is put at risk.'

'But what about the people of Townsville, if we don't go then people might be killed.' Bubbles said.

'They will be necessary sacrifices then.' Stephen responded in a cold and dead voice. 'I order you to stay here.'

'We can save the city in a few seconds easy and be back here for the ambush without anyone knowing.' Buttercup protested, enjoying the fact she was rebelling against Stephen even if it was only in a very small way.

'Its way to risky, as your commander I order the three of you to stay in that truck, after we either capture William or reach the prison then you can go save your city but until then you will stay here.'

'I'm sorry Stephen but I can't do that.' Blossom said. 'Buttercup is right, we can save the city in no time at all and if William does show you can call for us to return to the convoy.'

'You will really risk it all for a few lives… fine go but if you can't handle it then you are to return immediately.'

The Power Puff Girls did not even wait for Stephen to finish speaking before they had blasted out of the truck and back into the light again. Stephen had enough time to see three streaks of coloured light in the mirror before they were gone leaving the convoy almost completely unprotected.

'What should we do sir?' The driver sitting next to Stephen asked as the Power Puff Girls light trails vanished into the air. Stephen glanced at the driver and noticed he had a name label, "Hello my name is: Byron Ames."

'We drive on Byron… and pray.'

* * *

It was not hard to find the problem, not hard at all really. A small army of robots were attacking the east side of town, causing a relatively small path of destruction. The robots were humanoid in design, looking like suits of futuristic armour with a vast array of weapons attached to them. 

'Robots, I bet MoJo JoJo is behind this one.' Bubbles said.

'I don't think so; these robots are designed very differently from MoJo's work.' Blossom said.

'Who cares who built them; it's our job to smash them!' Buttercup gave a small battle cry as she charged into the midst of the robot army and began to destroy them.

The robots seemed to be all bark and no real bite, they fired laser beams that missed nearly every time, they punched at nothing but air and their armour seemed to be made of basic metals. The three Power Puff Girls were more then a match for these robots, they had finished most of them in the time it had taken most people to blink.

'Girls come in this is Stephen.' Stephen's voice came out of Blossom communicator watch as she torn the head of another robot.

'Stephen this is Blossom, no need to worry about us.' Blossom fired a few eye beams and took down three more of the robots. 'An army of robots were attacking but at the rate we are going they will be all scrap metal in a few seconds.'

'Robot army… Blossom do these robots look like rejects from an anime, red and black metal?' Stephen asked.

'Yeah they do look like that, how did you know?'

'Blossom listen to me!' Stephen shouted. 'Whatever you do you must not destroy all of these robots.'

'Well that's the last of them!' Buttercup said as she kicked the head off the very last of the robots letting its body hit the floor with a loud clank.

'Stephen we just destroyed them all…' Blossom said.

'Damn it!' Stephen shouted so loud Blossom had to put her hand over the watch to cut down the feed back. 'Ok those things were scouts, they test the power of whoever they fight and when they are all deactivated the real threat activates. William used these things a few times on me, when I destroyed all the droids the main robot activated and would attack me. This thing is big and it's near by girls, it will know all your strengths and I have a feeling it will know all your attacks.'

'If it's so big then why can't we see it?' Buttercup asked looking around and only seeing the remains of the robot army. 'Can anyone see a giant robot?'

The Power Puff Girls started to search around for any sign of the giant robot that Stephen had been talking about and found none. Buttercup was about to open her mouth to make some kind of comment when the ground started to shake so violently the girls were forced to become air born to stop from falling over.

'An earthquake?' Bubbles asked when they had gotten up high enough to avoid the shock.

'No this is way to strong.' Blossom said.

The quake went on for an only a few seconds before its source was revealed. One of the giant sky scrapers in the city suddenly exploded like a firecracker, brick and mortar sent flying out in a deadly shrapnel. The Power Puff Girls did their best to avoid the flying debris, and when they had finished they could see something else standing where a building had been before. Standing in the middle of the wreckage was a robot that looked exactly like the small ones the girls had destroyed, only this one was the same height as the Dynamo was.

'Ok I can see the giant robot now.' Buttercup said. 'Now let's smash it!' Buttercup charged off before Blossom could even think of ordering her to stay where she was.

'Prepare for devastation.' The giant Angelo-bot said in a deeply mechanical voice that boomed across the whole city.

'Yeah I'm prepared for it you walking heap of scrap metal.' Buttercup flew into its body with all the force she could muster expecting to go right trough it and come out the other end. Instead she simply bounced off its hard metal body not even denting the thing.

'It's not even dented!' Blossom said when she saw the lack of damage.

'Aw crap what am I going to do now?' Buttercup said as the robots giant fist moved with a speed that was near impossible fro something so huge. The hand grabbed Buttercup out of the air and held her up to its face.

'Subject Buttercup, danger level three.' The robot said just before it smashed Buttercup down into the ground and started twisting its hand round to rub her into the concrete. 'Target must be eliminated.'

'Oh no it's got Buttercup!' Bubbles shouted in horror. 'Blossom what should we do?'

'Bubbles fire everything you have at its hands.' Blossom ordered as she dove in at the robots hand.

'But you're in the way!' Bubbles shouted back.

'Just do what I say Bubbles!'

Bubbles took a moment more to decide but then followed her leaders' orders and attacked with everything she had. Her eye beams fired out alone with quick hand blasts and a full powered sonic scream all aimed at the robots giant hand. For one dreadful moment it looked like all of her attacks were going to his Blossom, but at the last second the pink Puff strafed to the right and let the attacks bass by her. When they hit they seemed to do as much damage as Buttercup's last attack had done.

'Attack eye beam, attack hand beam, attack sonic scream. All attacks known and countered for.' The robots voice said as the attacks hit its hand and did nothing to even make it move. Blossom however did not seem even a little worried, she instead flew in as low as she could and drove into the ground spinning round like a drill. Her body tunnelled under the robots hand and gave Buttercup an escape route. The two of them flew out of the tunnel in a blast of pink and green light, Buttercup coughing and spluttering the whole time.

'Damn thing was choking me under there.' Buttercup was not looking to badly hurt, her clothes were torn and her hair messed up but that seemed to be the worst of it.

'We can't just blindly charge this thing, we have to plan our attack or else we will get creamed.' Blossom said to Buttercup and then talked into her communicator watch. 'Stephen we are fighting the giant robot, is there anything you can tell us that might help.'

'Hmm… last time I faced one of these I found there was a weak point between the neck and the head, right in the joint.' Stephen's voice crackled over the com line. 'I used a high explosive there to blow the head clean off the body, maybe you can do the same.'

'Ok you heard the man, aim for that weak joint on the neck!' Blossom shouted.

'Ok robot payback time!' Buttercup and Bubbles attacked the robot at the same time trying to keep its attention while Blossom flew round the back to attack the weak point. Bubbles and Buttercup flew as fast as they could, firing pointless blasts from their hands that did nothing to the robot. Blossom went round the back and flew right up to the neck joint ready to attack with her most powerful blast. But when she got there she found the neck joint hand been heavily reinforced with duraniam alloy. The weak point was completely protected now.

'Stephen I am at the neck and it's been armoured, there is no way I could destroy it alone.' Blossom said.

'Then I want you to leave the area and come back to the convoy.' Stephen said. 'You can do nothing more there, let it destroy some of the town and then when we are done here we can deal with the robot.'

'But innocent people will get hurt, maybe even killed if we don't stop this thing right now.' Blossom shouted at her watch.

'I don't care, you orders are to come back here and get back into ambush position.' Stephen's cold voice came back across the com as clear as if he had been standing right next to her.

'… Sorry Stephen I did not get that… Bzzzt… breaking up… Bzzzzzt… losing….bzzzt… Ste…bzzzt!" Blossom faked static for a little while longer while Stephen shouted some curse words before she turned her communicator watch off.

'All right leader girl is back and the jerk is out!' Buttercup shouted when she heard what Blossom had done.

'That's right so you better do what I tell you Buttercup.' Blossom said. 'We are going to have to pull something special out if we want to stop this thing… I think we should try Razzle-Dazzle.'

'Flower petals of doom… remember what happened the last time we used that thing?' Buttercup said.

'I sure do, it was so pretty but I was almost sick after.' Bubbles felt her stomach turn just thinking of the last time they had tried that attack.

'Yes I know that, but don't forget the last time we used that attack it stopped a giant robot not to much different from this one.' Blossom said.

'Oh yeah the Dynamo… wish we still had that thing it might be useful now.' Buttercup said.

'Well we had it destroyed so we cant use it, now lets just get this done so we can head back.' Blossom held out both of her hands and waited for her sisters to take them so they could start to move.

When the three of them were in a circle holding hand they all said 'Razzle-Dazzle' at the same time and then began to spin as fast as they could move.

'Attack… Razzle-Dazzle… danger level eight… counter measure known… activating counter measure.' The robots blue eyes glowed for a second and then a greenish light seemed to surround it like a second skin. Just as the girls attack hit the robot the light seemed to become a thousand times brighter and seemed to act like a force-field. The bright lights danced around and the energy spiked through but nothing could touch the robot inside the energy field.

When the attack stopped the girls fell around like drunks as their heads kept spinning making them all feel sick as dogs.

'Way to go leader-girl, not only did we not even scratch its paint we are now close to vomiting.' Buttercup said as she stumbled into a wall and leaned against it for support.

'I don't understand… we never used Razzle-Dazzle against the scout robots so how did the giant robot know how to stop us?' Bubbles was lying on the floor holding her head and trying her best not to vomit.

'It must be programmed with all our data from our previous fights, William could get that as easily as ordering a pizza.' Blossom said. 'It must know every single attack we have ever used in a fight before.'

'Ok then lets use a new one then.' Buttercup said, finally feeling strong enough to stand under her own power.

'I don't have any new moves, we used them all up.' Blossom said.

'Then make up a new one.' Buttercup said putting both hands on her hips. 'How hard can that be? Just think of some stupid name for us to shout then let's get to it.'

'It's much harder to come up with new attack then that Buttercup.' Blossom yelled. 'It takes time to plan out moves and check if they work, at that's if they're are solo ones because team moves take training. It's not like I can pull a new attack out of thin air with out some planning on how to actually do it…' Blossom face froze as an idea streaked across her mind like a shooting star.

'I know that face, leader girl just came up with a plan.' Buttercup said. 'So what is the plan oh glorious leader, and if you say wait for it to make the next move I will hit you.'

'You two keep the robot busy, I need some time to do something.' Blossom shot up into the air without saying another word, hiding in cloud cover.

'Well that was informative… well you heard her Bubbles we got to keep the tin man busy for a while.' Buttercup said.

'Umm… where is the giant robot?' Bubbles asked when she noticed that the towering metal monstrosity was no where to be seen. 'It was here just a second ago I could swear it…' Bubbles did not finish as the ground started to shake below her feet followed by a blast of light shooting from the ground. The blue Power Puff Girl seemed to vanish in the deadly light as the robot jumped through the ground firing its arm lasers.

'Tactic alpha successful.' The robot said as it landed on the ground. 'Locating second target.'

'I'm right here!' Buttercup shouted as she fired her twin eye beams keeping her eyelids silted so as to concentrate them as much a possible. The red beams hit the robots metal armour and started to sizzle as the metal began to melt under the intense heat of the attack. If Buttercup could hold it for a little longer then the robots armour would open up and she could do some real damage to it.

'Optic eye beam attack… danger level five…counter measure known… activating counter measure.' The robots armour glowed green for a brief moment and then the red eyebeams turned green as well. Suddenly it was not Buttercup attacking the robot but the other way round as her own attack came crashing back at her. There was brilliant pain shooting through Buttercup's head before she feel back and the attack stopped.

'That's it, robot must pay!' Buttercup tried to open her eyes but found it to painful; she was at the very least temporally blind. 'That's just great… Blossom hurry the hell up!' Buttercup yelled in what she thought was the direction Blossom had gone.

'Subject Buttercup weakened proceeding to terminate.' The robot started to walk in the direction that Buttercup was stumbling around it when it was hit in the back of the head. A large blot of lightning seemed to come out of nowhere shocking its whole body and causing smoke to rise out of its joints.

'That was not very nice MR Robot!' Bubbles had come back from wherever the robot had blasted her to… and from the snow melting on her shoulders it was likely that had been quite some distance. Now looking like someone had tried to barbeque her, Bubbles normal carefree demeanour was gone and she looked more like a vengeful wraith then herself.

'Static bolt attack… protecting all higher systems… countering attack… earthing… attack countered.' The robot stopped smoking and the electricity that bounced around its body now seemed like a harmless light show as it turned its full attention on Bubbles.

'Oh-oh.' Bubbles said as she saw at least five guns charging up their energy ready to fire on her. She had only a moment to try and make a move; she could flee and avoid the attack or try attacking herself. If she had been Buttercup she may well have stood her ground and ended up been turned into atomic dust by the robots attack, fortunately she was not Buttercup. A voice deep in her mind told her to move, to get out of the way and so she did. Bubbles flew as fast as she could; avoid the fatal attacks the robot sent against her.

Bubbles was zipping around the robot so quickly she had become a blue streak that seemed to be nearly everywhere at once. The robot seemed to be paralysed as all it did was watch as the blue light beam flew round in a seemingly random pattern. When Bubbles was sure she was out manoeuvring the robot she tried to use her sonic scream against it. The waves of super sonic sound smashed into the robot as Bubbles flew round it, trying to shake it apart.

'Attack sonic scream… danger level one… Counter measures not necessary… focus on target… Bubbles database open… movements predicated… acting on data.' The robot seemed totally unfazed by Bubbles sonic scream, even as the ground around it was been turned to dust by its power. Instead it tracked her movements and used its previous knowledge to predict where he would go next. When the prediction was complete the robots hand shot out at mind boggling speed and grabbed hold of Bubbles with its giant fingers.

'Can't... Breathe… he…' Bubbles tried to call for help but the metal hand grew tighter and tighter as it started to crush even her body. She could hear her bones creaking as they began to buckle under the pressure. It would have taken only a little more pressure and then Bubbles would have been crushed like a piece of fruit, but Buttercup and finally recovered her sight and was back in the fray.

'Buttercup's cosmic hammer!' Buttercup came out of the sky like a rocket with both hand clasped above her head where all her energy seemed to be gathering in a green flame.

'Buttercup's cosmic hammer… attack unknown… taking evasive action.' The robot let go of Bubbles and put up both hand to try and sop Buttercup, but the green Puff instantly strafed away and went around its hands and went after Bubbles.

'I never knew you had a cosmic hammer attack.' Bubbles said when Buttercup caught her in midair.

'I don't, I told you we just need a stupid name to shout when we attack and it usual does something.' Buttercup said putting Bubbles down on her own feet.

'I am out of energy Buttercup, I used it all when that robot tried to crush me… what have you got left?' Bubbles asked.

'Not a lot… maybe enough for a few blasts and such but nothing good enough to even slow then thing down.' Buttercup admitted. 'I used a lot of energy healing my eyes so quickly… and here it comes.' Buttercup watched as the robot moved on to where Buttercup and Bubbles were standing.

'Prepare for devastation.' The robot said.

'You all ready said that, can't you think of something more original?' The robot seemed to take no notice of Buttercup's taunt. 'Well that's it I am out of ideas… Bubbles you got anything?' Bubbles just shook her head as she started to take a few steps back. The robot was getting closer to them and they did not have the energy to fly away fast enough, all they could do was slowly walk back as it moved forward.

The robots weapons banks all opened and every single one started to ready its self to attack the two girls. There was enough fire power there to wipe out the whole of Townsville and it was all aimed right for Buttercup and Bubbles.

'Blossom anytime now!' Buttercup shouted as her back hit a wall and she could see they were in a dead-end. 'Seriously any time you would like to step in would be good… Blossom… now would be good!' Bubbles seemed to be making some whimpering noises as the robot finished moving and was about to fire on them, Buttercup just stood there looking at her destroyer waiting to go down.

'It's ready!' Blossom's voice came from the sky as she flew down to face the robot. 'Let's see you adapt to this!' Blossom put out her hand just shy of touching the giant machines head. Her hand suddenly glowed with a bright white light that looked like a second sun had appeared. The robots sensors all focused on it trying to match it to anything in its database and failing.

'This is the end.' Blossom pulled back her fist and as it moved back it looked like space and time was snagged on the light as they bent with it, pulling back to reveal the very fabric of the universe beneath it. 'FIST OF OBLIVION!' Blossom threw her hand forward with all the strength in her body and as she did the light exploded out like an atomic flash covering all most the whole town in its light. Her fist crashed into the metal monstrosities head causing its armour to buckle like it was made of nothing more substantial then tin foil. Then all the energy blasted out of her hand in a devastating blast of pure white light. The whole of the robot was completely engulfed in the power of the attack, sending it up into the air. The robots armour was torn off its body and the vaporised with in seconds.

'Attack unknown… danger level ten…. No known counter measures… mission terminating… time of failure… twenty minutes into mission… primary mission… successful.' The robot managed to say before its ability to speak was torn out of it along with its mind. It took but three seconds under the intense power of Blossom's attack before the robot was reduced to ash and molten metal.

'Now that was intense!' Buttercup said when the deafening roar of the "fist of oblivion" attack ended along with the blast of light that had come with it. It was at that very second Blossom plummeted out of the sky and crashed onto the ground.

'Blossom!' Bubbles forgot all about her own pain and dashed over to where Blossom had crashed.

'I'm ok Bubbles, just totally drained.' Blossom said as she sat up. 'That attack uses all your energy up; I don't have enough left to fly at the moment.'

'Speaking of that attack… where the hell did it come from?' Buttercup asked. 'I mean it was awesome, why didn't you tell use you had an attack like that sooner?'

'The attack is so slow to build up its almost useless in a fight even if it is so powerful.' Blossom said. 'And I didn't come up with it; it was one of Brick's ideas…' Blossom stopped there as the victorious expression on Buttercup's face disappeared.

'We ought to get back to the convoy before Stephen gets to mad at us.' Bubbles once again knew just the right thing to say, both girls completely forgot about Brick and the others and turned their attention back to the present.

'I say screw how angry he gets, we should just wait here for a few more hours to get him really angry.' Buttercup suggested with an evil smirk across her face.

'No we should get back; they need us for the plan to work… but one of you is going to have to carry me there.' Blossom said and noticed how Buttercup glared at Bubbles who simply sighed.

* * *

'Oh no…' Blossom said when she saw where the convoy had been. 'Bubbles set us down quickly.' 

From high above they all could see what had happened, the trucks where gone and laying at the side of the roads where bodies. Every single person who had been part of the convoy lay at the roadside not moving. The Power Puff Girls landed on the road and started to check everyone of the security team for a pulse. To the girls relief every single person was alive and unharmed if for some reason they were all unconscious.

'Hey I found captain jerk-face' Buttercup said when she found Stephen De-joule lying on his back next to one of the drivers. 'Sleeping like a baby… someone get a bucket of warm water to dip his hand in.'

'Ugh...' Stephen's eyes started to open slowly as he came round. 'What on earth?' He asked as he sat up feeling his head spin when he did.

'Well sleeping beauty is up, shame he's almost bearable when he's asleep.' Buttercup said.

'Stephen what happened here?' Blossom asked.

'I don't remember… we were driving along then I heard something… there was a light and I remember feeling very sick and then it's all a blank.' Stephen got to his feet with visible effort and stumbled over to the road where he could see something very familiar to him. 'William's rose… and what's this?' Stephen bent down and picked some greenish metal.

'What did you find?' Bubbles asked.

'The remains of a concussion grenade… William must have set them off to KO all of us then simply took off with the trucks leaving us on the side of the road.' Stephen got up and marched over to Blossom. 'William Angelo has all he needs to bring the world in to a perpetual nightmare and its all you fault Blossom… you damned the world with your pathetic leadership skills.' Stephens words hit Blossom harder then any attack ever could have done, in that way he did more then any villain Townsville had ever had could have done. He destroyed Blossom.


	7. Remembered

Forgotten 

Part 7

Remembered 

They were all awake now, all of them saw the fall of a leader and all of them would remember it. The old one stood over the young girl, his face red with anger and his fists clenched tightly.

'If you had stayed here like it told you to do then the concussion grenades would have left you untouched but you decided that you knew better.' Stephen grabbed Blossom by the shoulders and shook her violently. 'You saved a few lives stopping that robot but in doing that you let William get all he needs to kill millions… maybe even billions of people. I thought you had at least enough intelligence to plan ahead but you just showed me what a miserable excuse of a leader you really are.' Stephen tossed Blossom aside and started swearing as loudly as he could shout.

Blossom lay on the road for a moment, totally devoid of emotion and feeling while her sisters ran to her side.

'Blossom are you ok?' Bubbles asked she took her sisters shoulder and looked into her cold eyes. Blossom stayed still for a few seconds then her eyes filled with tears and she began to weep freely.

'Oh that is it Stephen is going down.' Buttercup started to march in the direction of Stephen, fully intending to beat him into a pulp after they way he had treated Blossom. She very may have killed Stephen if Bubbles had not interfered once again.

'Buttercup don't, beating him up wont prove anything.' Bubbles said as she hugged Blossom as tightly as she could. 'Blossom needs us right now, please Buttercup.'

'…Fine.' Buttercup relented one last time as she stopped walking and went back over to Blossom and Bubbles.

* * *

'I have never seen such incompetence before in my life!' Stephen's voice filled the whole of the Utonium house. 'I gave the simplest of orders and they could not follow them…' 

'Mr. De-joule if you don't stop shouting then I will be forced to ask you to leave.' Professor Utonium's voice was just above its normal levels as he used all his effort to suppress his own anger.

'Fine I will stop shouting but it does not change the face that right now a madman has a doomsday device and that he could have been stopped if your daughters had just done what I told them to do.' Stephens' voice was now just audible to the girls but they stopped paying attention to him. Bubbles and Buttercup were far more concerned with Blossom, she had stopped crying but she was still hurting after what Stephen had said.

'Come on Blossom snap out of this… if it will make you feel better I will go knock out some of Stephen's teeth. Heck you can even order me to do it, ordering me about always makes you feel better.' Buttercup tried as hard as Bubbles to get Blossom out of her depression and was so far failing just as miserably. Blossom was sitting on the bed hugging a stuffed rabbit toy and refusing to talk to her sisters.

'Blossom you're a great leader.' Bubbles said. 'You saved the day more times then I can count.'

'I was lucky that's all.' Blossom's first words in hours, at least that was some progress.

'That's not true, remember all those plans you came up with?' Buttercup said. 'I may hate them, they maybe as dull as hell but they were all good plans. You make a better leader then I ever could do.'

'If I was a good leader then William would never have gotten the device, it would be locked up and so would he.' Blossom said. 'If I had just done what Stephen told me to do then we would have stopped him. Stephen was right I am a bad leader.'

'Blossom don't listen to that jerk.' Buttercup said. 'He wouldn't know a good leader if one bit him on the nose.'

'Actually "That jerk" would know a good leader if he saw one.' Stephen was standing in the door way to the girl's room with both hands on his hips. 'But right now that really does not matter, William has won and no fighting over the past will fix that problem. Blossom stop sulking, stand up and look at me.' Stephen's voice took on such a commanding power that even Buttercup felt the urge to follow what he said, quickly suppressed by her burning hate for him. Blossom put down the stuffed toy, got of the bed and looked Stephen in the eye.

'I messed up.' Blossom simply said before averting her eyes to look away from Stephen.

'You did mess up, now look at me Blossom.' Blossom looked up at Stephen and for a moment saw him a she must have been in his prime, commanding and powerful. 'We may still have a chance to stop William but only if you follow my orders exactly. Will you everything I say without fail, without question or hesitation?'

'Yes.'

'And can you say the same for your sisters?' Stephen did not even glance at Bubbles and Buttercup when he said that.

'They will.' Stephen seemed happy with that and let Blossom look away.

It hurt Bubbles and Buttercup to see their sisters acting so meek and subservient. Blossom was just a shadow of who she used to be, and they were now going to follow the man responsible for her suffering. What made it worse was the smug expression on Stephen's face; it seemed to be saying "_I finally took that stuck up girl down a peg. Showed her she is nothing and I am something."_

'Ok then this is what we are going to do then.' Stephen started to order them like they were in the army, to him maybe they were. 'William must be putting the final touches to the device before he fires it sometime tomorrow. To do that he would have to be in some place big enough to hold the device, with a ready power system and on the surface so the beam could reach the satellites.'

'Did you try the factory where he built them before?' Bubbles asked.

'Yeah I bet that's where he is building them.' Buttercup said. 'If he's trying so hard to repeat history that would be the best place for it.'

'He's not there I all ready checked that factory several times.' Stephen said. 'Instead I want you three to go and check the south side of town while I will investigate the north side of town…'

'Maybe he just moved in there, or maybe he was hiding the device when you checked.' Bubbles said.

'Damn it listen I all ready checked over that place, I have gone through it with a fine toothcomb trying to find him there.' Stephen was red with anger once more and he shouted at the blue Power Puff Girl. 'There is nothing there, not even a hint that William has been there in over twenty years. He maybe dramatic but he is not stupid; he would know the factory is the first place I would check. So we will not waste anymore time searching there, you will search the south side and if we are lucky you might find him in time.' Stephen slammed the girl's door shut and then stomped out of their house to go to his car and start his own mission.

'That insensitive, conceited, arrogant, jerk!' Buttercup said. 'We suggest something and he explodes like we just suggested killing his parents.'

* * *

Something was nagging at Blossom, tugging away at the back of her mind trying to get her attention. This was where she usually came up with all of her plans, listening to the voice inside of her. But after she had failed so monumentally Blossom did everything she could to ignore that little voice. She put all her attention on flying, on scanning for any building that might have William in it. She could see both of her sisters flying beside her, Bubbles doing her best to search while Buttercup spent most of her time mumbling her breath. 

_You are a terrible leader. _That was a new voice that had found its way into her mind, a voice very much like that of Stephen De-joule. _You failed as a leader._ Blossom tried to send this voice back with the other but it was just too strong. _If you had been a better leader you might have come up with a plan that both stopped the robots and kept the convoy safe._ The past was eating her up, it was consuming her whole in this voice and she could not even ask for help. She might have put up with the voice a little longer but it found just the right thing to say to twist the knife Stephen had put in her. _If you were a better leader Brick and the other Rowdy Ruff Boys would still be alive._ This was the last straw, the strain on Blossom was just to much as she felt a flood gate open inside her. All the pain she experienced when Brick had died flooded its way into her, the feeling of failure taking over her completely. _Good you deserve this pain because you are such a bad leader. You deserve to suffer for what you did; you deserve nothing more then this. _Blossom grabbed her head ready to scream out but she stopped when suddenly the world seem to have shifted around her.

Blossom was no longer flying; she was standing knee deep in water that was rising further and further up. The stench of oil and pollution was gone and now the smell of salt water filled her nose. Blossom opened her eyes and found she was standing in the ocean with the tide coming up rapidly.

'You know playing the martyr makes you look incredibly silly.' The voice came from behind her and she dared not turn round to see it. If it was who she thought it was then it would be the final proof she had gone mad.

'This isn't real.' Blossom said closing her eyes and trying to pull out of the fantasy.

'That's both very true and very false.' The voice said. 'You may not really be at a beach standing knee deep in water that is threatening to drown you… but you are drowning, just like I was. Blossom turn round and look at me… please?'

'No you can't be there, this is not real.' Blossom kept her eyes shut but the world would not go back to normal, and now the water was sloshing around at her thighs and still getting higher.

'Blossom I really don't have time to go over the same thing over and over again.' The voice said. 'I can't go in the water like you did for me… in a way I am part of the water that's trying to drown you. Blossom do you know the name of the ocean you're standing in right now?'

'Please leave me alone.' Blossom said.

'If you had done that then I would have drowned, and I have to repay the favor.' The voice said. 'I maybe just a memory but even then I pay all my debts. Now I asked if you know the name of the ocean you are now waist deep in. It's called the Past Blossom, and you are not the first one to be washed into it. Blossom you can walk out of it, just like did.'

'I messed up…' Blossom wailed.

'So what?' The voice said. 'Sorry Blossom but if you think you are the first great leader to make a few mistakes then you are mistaken. Mistakes are a part of life, learn from them and then move on.'

'But I am a leader, I am meant to be perfect in every way.'

'Perfection is in flaws Blossom, if you had none you could never learn and then you would never become truly perfect.' The voice went on. 'Blossom your chest deep in the past and the tide is still coming in, you don't have much time before you go under it and become lost.'

'If I was a good leader I would have found a way to save you.' Blossom said, feeling the water now reaching up to her neck. She opened her eyes and could see the sea steadily rise up, it would not be long before she would go under and this would all end for her.

'You're not still beating yourself up about that are you?' The voice said. 'Blossom there was nothing to be done; no one could have won that day. It's the past now, you can't undo that no matter what you do or think of. What matters is that you did your best that day, you tried everything and that's what makes you a good leader. Right now you are not doing your best; you are wallowing in self pity and trying to pass of your responsibilities.'

Blossom stood in the water, the cold washing around the very tip of her chin as it moved ever closer to covering her. She felt the sting of tears as they finally escaped her eyes and dripped into an ocean that has seen more tears then any other. Blossom turned round ready to get out of the water and was surprised to see she already was. There was no beach behind her just the sky, and the owner of the voice was no where to be seen. She was back in the sky flying with Bubbles and Buttercup looking for where William was hiding. Blossom cam to an abrupt stop shocking both of her sisters.

'Hey what's the deal, taking a break or something?' Buttercup asked.

'No I am done taking a break, now I'm taking charge.' Blossom said. 'We are ditching this worthless search; there is no way William is on the south side of town. There is no place here he could use. We are going to the factory he used before; it's the only place that fits him and what he has done so far. It won't take three minutes to check it over and if I am wrong who cares. And Buttercup, if Stephen so much as makes one comment about it you have my full permission to punch his lights out.'

Buttercup and Bubbles stood completely dumbfounded as Blossom seemed to come out of her depression almost instantly. Buttercup was the first to break out of her shocked state and jumped up punching the air.

'All right Blossom is back, kicking ass and taking names!' Buttercup shouted. 'Now all I need is to punch Stephen and this day will be complete.'

'Yay Blossom!' Bubbles said cheerfully. 'I was worried we had lost you there.'

'You almost did Bubbles but I pulled my self back with a little help.' Blossom said sweetly before putting on her most authoritarian voice. 'Power Puff Girls lets move out!'

* * *

The factory had not been used since William had been incarcerated; it had been locked in a legal deadlock for almost twenty years now and would probably fall apart before anyone could make a decision about it. So it stood empty and almost exactly the same as it had been at the end of the final fight between William and Stephen. It had been cleared out for evidence and then later by scavengers, but when the girls arrived it was far from dead. The whole building was filled with light that came from the power core of the device. 

'Looks like you made the right call leader girl.' Buttercup said when they walked into the factory which was just like walking into the video of the final fight. The device was fully operational; the orb of energy that had once been the size of a base ball was now the size of a small house controlled by the four towers that had been in the convoy.

'We better tell Stephen we found it.' Bubbles said.

'Right.' Blossom turned on her communicator and set it to Stephen's frequency. 'Stephen this is Blossom come in.'

'Blossom what is it, I am busy right now.' Stephen's voice came back with a lot of heavy static, he must have been underground somewhere.

'Stephen we found where William is keeping the device.' There was nothing but silence from Stephens end. 'It's in the old factory where he had it the last time; I thought it might be here so checked. Stephen its up and running right now.'

'I see… It seems I owe you an apology Blossom.' Stephen finally said. 'I will give it to you as soon as I arrive. Wait for me; I know how to shut the device down. If William shows I recommend you hide, I still don't think you're a match for him yet. Stephen out.'

'The jerk actually admits he's wrong who would have thought it.' Buttercup said as she floated up the walkway to get a closer look at the device.

'Buttercup Stephen may not be a very nice guy but it takes a lot for a leader to admit when they are wrong… and even more to swallow your pride and ask forgiveness.' Blossom said. 'When he gets here at least try to be civil with him. After all if everything goes well this will be the last time we need to see him.'

Bubbles was not on the walkway with her sisters but looking around the factory. She had stumbled on where William must have been living all this time. There was a single blanket lying on the ground next to some boxes that had contained food of some sort in them. Bubbles bent down and felt the blanket; it was as cold as the floor showing that William had not slept there for a while at least. Bubbles was just kicking the garbage when she heard Blossom call for her.

'Coming.' Bubbles said flying up to the catwalk.

* * *

The girls stood watch over the device while they waited for Stephen to arrive. Blossom had glanced over the controls to the device and found they were way beyond anything she could have worked out. So with no other option they sat around watching the door hoping that Stephen would be the one to walk through it and not William Angelo. When the doors did open they all tensed up ready to fight if it was anyone but Stephen De-joule. There was a mixed feeling of relief and disappointment when Stephen walked in. In a way they had wanted William to walk through, to finally come out of the shadows and into the light where they would know his face. 

'Stephen we're up here!' Bubbles shouted from the stop of the catwalk.

'Hang on a second, I'll fly down and pick you up.' Blossom started to hover ready to go and pick Stephen up when Stephen made a small sound of disgust. Instead of waiting he ran at full speed hitting the ladder and running up the rungs with in a second. Stephen flipped over the top and landed perfectly on the cat walk.

'Wow.' Buttercup could not help the surprise escaping her as Stephen walked past her and went to the computer controls.

'I'm old, not dead.' Stephen said as he started typing in commands into the computer. 'It's exactly the same as last time… well almost; it looks like William finished the firing mechanism this time.' Stephen pointed at the large gun like machine that was suspended over the roof. It was connected to both the computer and the device it's self and mounted so it could rotate to any angle imaginable.

'Can you shut it off?' Blossom asked.

'I think so, and then it should be safe for you to destroy it…' Stephen stopped typing and looked at Blossom. 'Blossom I have to apologize for the way I acted earlier I was wrong. As soon as I am done with this I will explain everything to you I swear, but right now would you be willing to accept the recommendations of an old fool?' Stephen's voice had lost all of its meanness now and it was impossible to hold a grudge against him when it was gone.

'Sure.' Blossom said.

'I will shut the device down while you and your sisters guard the door.' Stephen said. 'If William comes back slow him down any way you can, just buy me time to shut this device off.'

'Sure thing Stephen.' Blossom turned round to Buttercup and Bubbles. 'Ok girls you heard the man let guard that door.'

The Power Puff Girls flew down to the ground floor and stood in front of the door ready for any attack at any moment. Above them Stephen typed in commands at the speed of a professional typist. As he did the towers made different noises and the energy orb seemed to change color.

'Girls the gun turret is about to move back to the restart position don't be alarmed.' Stephen shouted over the edge of the railing just before the large gun device started to swing round with the whirl of servos and motors. The gun moved all round the room, pointing up and down as it did like it was trying to find an invisible target. The gun stopped suddenly as it pointed at the girls and then fired a single blast of golden light at them. The second it hit the girls felt sick and weak as their powers were stripped from them.

'What's going on here?' Blossom asked when she dropped out of the air and hit the floor, her power of flight gone just as if she had drank antidote X. She could see both of her sisters were suffering from the same problem as they picked themselves off the floor. Stephen gave no answer but the computers voice did.

'Warning energy core has passed three Calla-watts overload immanent… estimated time to destruction is fifteen minutes.' The core started to get brighter just as it had done when William Angelo had set it to overload twenty years ago.

Stephen walked away from the controls and went to the ladder once more this time he simply slid down the rails and skidded down to the ground floor where the girls were waiting for him.

'Stephen what did you do?' Blossom yelled at him.

'I used the device to remove your powers for about twenty-four hours then set the core to overload.' Stephen said but it took time for his word to fully sink into the girls. Stephen had just caused exactly what they had been trying to stop.

'Stephen why are you helping William Angelo?' Bubbles asked him with tears in her eyes, she had trusted Stephen even if he was mean. That was one of Bubbles biggest weakness, she trusted too much and so betrayal always hit her harder then others.

'William Angelo has been dead since January 3rd.' Stephen said. 'I should know I killed him.'

'This doesn't make any sense… if William has been dead since then who was assembling the device, who was it we have been fighting all this time?' Blossom just could not think strait; things just seemed to be going so wrong even her mind could not cope with it all.

'This whole time it was me you have been up against, not William Angelo.' Stephen said. 'I stole some stealth devices before I came here and they really helped me get around. I went to Cyberdine and stole the super computer using the sewer system to get it out. After that I noticed you three might be a problem to me, so I thought the best way to do anything was to join you. I would could keep an eye on you and make sure you did not get in my way. At OCP I made sure I was let right into the room with the power core, while you were searching the sewers I had the core in my pocket after faking that fight will William.' Stephen's voice was calm and almost nostalgic as he talked about what he had done.

'But that doesn't make any sense… if you were doing it then who left the Black roses and sent the Angelo robots against us?' Blossom asked.

'That was still me, it's true you can not make any of William's roses but there are many of them still about.' Stephen went on. 'If you know where to look you can find as many of them as you need to use. The robots were even easier, William had so many stock piles and the police never found them but I knew where they were. I activated them and sent them out to distract you… I must say you impressed me. I expected you would have to get me to come and help you but you managed to hold out on your own and I paid the price. It was not in my plan to be hit when the concussion grenades I set up went off, but nothing ever goes perfectly. The remaining drones did their job perfectly, taking the trucks and activating the stealth camo devices I stole to hide them. You three probably flew right over them and never even knew it.

I am really sorry about how I acted to you recently but it was all part of my plans. I knew I would not be able to control you as long as Blossom held full power, I had to stop destroy her confidence if I was to do this. I set it up so you would fail and take blame and then I did everything I could to rub salt into the wound. Again I am sorry, you are a fine leader Blossom… better then I ever was.'

The core made loud groaning sound as the metal towers fired more beams of energy into it trying to hold it steady. The computer was doing all it could but was all ready starting to lose its control and eventually it would lead to a second sun been made right in the middle of Townsville.

'But why Stephen?' Bubbles yelled. 'This makes no sense, you are a hero.'

'I promised to explain everything so I will Bubbles.' Stephen cleared his throat. 'I will try to be as fast I can; after all we have only a little time left. I guess I shall start with the beginning.

As you remember I stopped William using this device by jumping into it and letting its energy take my powers. When I recovered the government were left with a choice, they could restore my powers if they wished or leave me. It was decided that with William defeated there was no need for another "Project red." So I was left as I was. I could deal with that, a normal life sounded kind of nice to me at the time but I was wrong. The government destroyed all records of my existence and left me with only the clothes on my back. Not only that but when it seemed like the main scientists on the project might defect to another country they were all killed. Mary Stevens and Henry De-joule, my mother and father… they were both killed. Then they demanded that I pay over the tax I owed for my life in America. I never earned a dime yet they wanted tax from me… I just could not pay so they arrested me and put me in jail for five years. That same jail William Angelo was put in, ironic isn't it?'

'That's it; you want to destroy the world because you were put in jail for five years for tax evasion.' Buttercup said. 'I have heard lame reasons for evil but this has got to be the worst one ever.'

'No I am not doing this because of my time in jail; listen and I will tell you the whole story.' Stephen waited a moment for any more interruptions and then went on with his story. 'When I got out I had no qualifications, not documents apart from one that said I had been to jail. My chances of getting a job were so small I won't even go into them. So I left Townsville and moved to Citiesville where I began my career as a bum and a drunk whenever I could afford it. It was a cycle, I would get some crappy job that paid less money then it was worth and when it was over I would spend every cent I could on drink. When I ran out of money and drink I went looking for a job again so I could drink again. That's how I spent most of my time for about a decade or so.

One night I had just gotten pay and could really afford to splash out, no rotgut whisky for me I could have the good stuff. The good stuff nearly killed me; I drank too much, fell into the gutter and started to choke on my own vomit. I would have died then and there if three street kids had not found me and got me to the hospital. Brian, Benny and Buster… I don't know how they did it but they actually got me to the hospital faster then a car could have. I actually went looking for them, to thank them but they had split town by then.' All of the girls knew who Brian, Buster and Benny really were and where they had gone after saving Stephen De-joules life. It seemed so bizarre the number of coincidences in their lives, but this was not the time to think of them.

'When I woke up I was in a hospital bed and given a choice. I could go back to where I was or I could take the leaflet the nurse had that was to a shelter that specialized with alcoholics like myself. I tried the shelter; I had nothing to lose and everything to win. And by some miracle I will never understand the place actually worked. I have not had a drink since that night I nearly killed myself with it. I got cleaned up, got myself a half decent job which for once I managed to keep. All those things were great but the best thing was Lucy.' As soon as Stephen said her name he felt that twist in his heart that had been there since he killed William. His eyes lost their calm and filled with sadness once more, but Bubbles noticed that no matter how sad they looked, they never showed signs of tears.

'Who was Lucy?' Bubbles asked in a quiet voice.

'She was at the shelter with me, she had been alcoholic to and we sort of just clicked from there. We… we fell in love so quickly it was scary for me; I think she was the main reason I managed to keep off the drink. We got jobs at the same time and even started to share an apartment with each other. I was even thinking of marrying her if I could scrape enough cash for a wedding. But then William was released from Jail. If I had known, or heard about those children I would have taken Lucy and ran for all I was worth…. But I didn't know…

* * *

January was surprisingly warm this year, Stephen hardly needed his coat on today but Lucy would not let him leave with out. They had joked about it saying the usual banter before Stephen slid down the banister like a ten year old kid and nearly knocked Mrs. Patterson down as he did. 

It was the third of January and that was an important date for Stephen and Lucy. It was the first year they had been living together and Stephen had planned to celebrate. He had gone to the store and managed to get his hands on all he would need to make Lucy's favorite dinner. Normal Stephen was banned from the kitchen, he was one of the world's worst cooks but he had been practicing secretly. One of their neighbors had let him use their kitchen and had even given him lessons and a decent price. Now he was sure that he could cook the meal with only messing it up a little… if he was lucky.

In the crook of his right arm Stephen held the brown shopping bag while his right hand span his keys round on his finger. He was going up the stairs two at a time when he noticed his land lord sitting on them, rolling up a cheap cigarette.

'Good day Mr. Lawson.' Stephen said as he stopped spinning his keys round and the land lord lifted his head up from his cigarette in the making.

Stephen had a moment to think how lucky he really was, Mr. Lawson was a pretty nice guy as long as you paid your rent on time. The apartments were falling apart but for Citiesville they were at least middle ranged and the people in them were as nice as you could ask. It was like the few nice people in the city had moved into these apartments to be close to each other.

'Stephen you look in a jolly mood today.' Mr. Lawson said with a smile on his face. 'You look like the cat that just got the milk.'

'Well I don't know about that Mr. Lawson, I might get the milk later but that depends on how my cooking turns out.' Mr. Lawson cocked his right eyebrow and stared at Stephen sternly but then broke down into laughter.

'You are a card Stephen.' Stephen nodded and started going up the stairs once more when Mr. Lawson called back to him. 'Oh Stephen a guy just went up don't know if you might know him. He don't live here and I never saw him before… gave me the shivers though, don't know why he just did.'

'Well we aren't expecting anyone I can tell you that much Mr. Lawson… maybe it's another caller for number four.' Stephen did not have to say anymore, room number four had a guest with rather bizarre tastes and they usually involved complete strangers.

'No he didn't look like number fours taste Stephen, but he might have been a friend of anyone up stairs I guess.' Mr. Lawson said. 'I will keep asking around, maybe when he comes down again I will ask him myself. Any way Stephen I think I talked your ear off long enough. Go see if you can get that milk of yours…' Mr. Lawson fell back into another fit of laughter as Stephen jogged up the stairs again.

Stephen reached his door and was still spinning his keys ready to put them in the lock. He froze when he noticed the door was slightly ajar, he had closed it when he left he was sure of that. _Maybe Lucy opened it for some reason and didn't close it right. _The voice was reasonable and totally logical yet it just did not ring true with Stephen. He put down the bag and went to his boot to pull out the hunting knife he had stuck in there. This was Citiesville and if you did not have a weapon you were likely to be found the next day minus your valuables and maybe a few organs.

The door opened silently as Stephen walked in using all the stealth he had been trained with. His footsteps were soundless and his breathing almost no existent. All the time his mind was telling him how he would find Lucy and would feel like a complete ass for over reacting. Heck if he just called out her name she would probably answer and then he could avoid some embarrassment. But all his training stopped him calling out, stopped him giving away his position.

The rooms so far were all clear, only one room was left and that was the bedroom. Stephen moved to the door and pushed it; it moved very slightly and left enough of a gap for him to see into the room. When he did look his head span and he felt weak. On the bed he had shared with Lucy for so many nights was the man he had done everything he could to stop. William Angelo was kneeling on the bed with his back to the door using a knife of his own. Lying bellow William with her throat slit was Lucy, William was in the middle of cutting his famous smile into her face.

Stephen never remembered this bit; the whole thing just seemed to turn red for him and then skip forward. It was like a film where a whole scene had been edited out and replaced with a red back drop. When the red was gone Stephen could feel a pain in his arm as he bought it down into something soft and yielding. He was stabbing William Angelo in the back, and it looked like he had been doing it for a long time. William was dead, as dead as Lucy, as dead as he parents and as dead as his past.

Stephen stopped plunging his knife into William's carcass and fell of the bed feeling sick. For a moment he dry heaved in the corner of the room and then managed to bring himself back. He got up and went over to the bed; he just could not leave that monster lying onto of Lucy. He grabbed William and tossed him to one side spitting on his body as he did so.

Now he could see Lucy properly, he face drained of color as her blood had soaked into the mattress. There was a horrible half smile cut into her face because William had been stopped mid job. Lucy was dead; the only person in the world Stephen gave a damn about was gone. If he was going to cry this was the moment, the ultimate pain in his life and it was expected of him to shed a few tears. He waited and nothing happened, no tears ever came to him. It seemed to government had done is job on him, crying was a sign of weakness and weakness was one thing they had stamped out of him a long time ago.

He could not just sit here all day long, not with two bodies lying next to him. He had work to do now, a purpose to fulfill and that purpose was in Townsville.

* * *

Stephen stopped talking for what seemed like the first time in hours, but of course that was impossible. He had condensed his life to no more then a few minutes of talk, but he had explained nearly everything in doing so. Bubbles was actually crying after hearing what Stephen had to say, even Buttercup felt some of her resentment for Stephen melt away. 

'Everything about me has been erased, people don't remember my name, my records are gone, my family is dead, my love is dead and the only good I ever did in this world was undone. I gave up everything to put William in jail and they let him out because he was well behaved. It seems everyone wants me erased from history, so I am fulfilling that wish. It will be like Stephen De-joule never existed, and this device will do it all for me. I never stopped it exploding so this world should be nothing, and that's what it will be in about ten minutes.'

'Stephen you can't do this.' Blossom said. 'You are a hero, even if people don't remember that you are… even if the world treats you so badly that doesn't change the fact you are a hero.'

'I was a hero but they did not want a hero… now they get exactly what they want.' Stephen said. 'Blossom while I must commend your attempt to stop me its all ready to late, you have no powers and when the core starts to over load there is no way to stop it. It's too late for anyone to help. If I were you I would run now, if you are quick enough you might make it home. You and your family could enjoy one last brief moment of love before the end comes.'

'Stephen why did you take our powers away for only twenty-four hours if the world will end in ten minutes?' Blossom asked. 'I think it's because you don't want it to end, not really because you are not really evil. You are a hero and heroes do not hurt innocent people. Some people have treated you horribly but you want to punish the whole world for it.'

'You have no idea what my life has been like, what the past has done to me.' Stephen's anger was starting to show through but Blossom kept at him.

'I know what its like to let the past take you Stephen, to drown in it when you could easily walk right out of it.' Blossom said. 'The past is nothing but ghosts and memories, and nothing you do will change that Stephen. All you are doing now is taking away the future for everyone on this planet just so you can feel better.'

'Blossom I am warning you, you are starting to get on my nerves.' Stephen said through clenched teeth. 'You and your sisters should go now, if you don't you will never make it home in time.'

'Stephen… is this what Lucy would have wanted?' Bubbles asked and noticed how Stephen seemed to recoil like she had slapped him. 'Is this what your mother and father would have wanted you to do? If it is then go ahead and blow the world up.'

Stephen looked at Bubbles like she was some kind of monster planning to eat him whole. His face was white, his hands shaking and sweat started to drip off his forehead. It looked like he might come round but then he pulled out a gun from his belt and pointed it at the girls.

'Get out of here now before I shoot you.' Stephen said. 'You can all die here or you can go home and at least have some happiness before the end. Your choice.'

'Come on girls there's nothing more we can do here.' Blossom said.

The girls left Stephen alone in the factory, holding out his gun the whole time with the trigger almost pulled. _Stephen you never killed anyone in your life, maybe that's the reason you are the only one alive in wolf pack? _The voice sounded like Mary Stevens, the woman he called mother for a time. _Killing never solves problems, you know that don't you? _That was Henry De-joule's voice deep inside his mind.

'If I had killed William Angelo then this would never have happened!' Stephen shouted out and that seemed to end all the voices once more.

He put the gun back in its holster and felt around his pockets for his flask. He had gotten this flask when he hired out the car he had been driving, a cheep tin hip flask that he filled with some of the old rotgut whisky from his glory days as a bum. He had not even opened it since he had filled it, but it had heavy… seemed to be all ways pulling on him as if it wanted him to drink from it just to make it lighter. He thumbed the lid off the top and instantly his nose was assaulted by the smell of whisky. His shaking hands brought the flask to his lips and just hovered there, half of him begging for the drink the other half wishing to at least die sober.

'Go ahead boy drink it up, it will put hair in your chest, lead in your pencil and make you dance the cha-cha all night long!' That voice was one of the dead's, but it was as real as any could have been. A deeply American accent but where it was from was never sure. One time you would swear it was Texas, the next New York and then you might think it was more of an Alabama accent. Stephen knew the voice and acted to it with out thinking, his gun was out in a flash and a whole clip was unloaded into the man standing behind him.

'Boy it's a good thing I'm all ready dead or that would have hurt like a badger down a mine shaft I tell ya' so I do!' William started to laugh sending a shiver down Stephen's spine. 'My boy I fear you may kill me but once on life, just like you may only live only once and all that jabberwocky. So put the gun away and save some bullets, not that conservation will matter a hell of beans in a little while!'

William was wearing his cloak and hood that Harry Gregory would have recognized. The black cloak covered all of his body and the hood was pulled over so only the faintest suggestion of a face could be seen under it.

'Another specter from my shattered mind.' Stephen said putting the gun in its holster once more. 'Why have you come here, to torment me more before the end?'

'You are the one imagining I am here boy, so you should ask the question to yourself and not to the pig sticker man.' William said. 'If I was to guess though I would say that even you don't want to die alone, even if your last minutes are spent with me its better then going to the void alone my boy. Trust me on that. Now I think you were about to have something to dull the pain, a little shot in the arm, a wee tipple to take away your sorrow. Well boy the world is about to end, I think that is worth a drink if nothing else!'

Stephen looked at the hip flask for a moment then tossed it with all his strength. The metal flask clattered across the ground on the other side of the factory and let its cheap drink pour away onto the floor.

'Leave me alone, I wish to die in peace.' Stephen said as he started to climb up the ladder so he could monitor the computer.

'Sorry Steve but it looks like you want me to stick around and really who could blame you?' William was now standing on the catwalk giggling whenever he was not talking. 'Don't worry about it Steve my boy when the core explodes you will be dead and so the memory of me will die. We will both be dust in the wind and you can be alone at last.'

'I told you not to call me Steve, my name is Stephen!' Stephen swung a fist at William and not surprisingly it went right through him.

'But Stephen is so formal and you know how I just love to be laid back about such things.' William laughed once more. 'Oh come on boy don't tell me you can't take a little joking around? The ladies love a man who can laugh at himself you know.'

He just tried to ignore the phantom that stood behind him, constantly talking about the most stupid of subjects. His mind had been a horrid place recently, filled with ghosts of the past but soon it would be quiet and he could find some peace.

'Stephen?' The voice was not William's, it was not even the voice of a man, but it was the voice of a ghost. Stephen raised his head and looked out over the energy orb to see Lucy floating a few inches above it.

'No it can't be…' Of all the voices he had been plagued with Lucy had never been one of them. He had thought it strange at first but realized later that Lucy was the one person in his life that would never haunt him.

'Stephen, boy what the hell are you talking about?' William stopped laughing and now actually sounded concerned. 'I do believe you have a few marbles floating around your head and well they just gone and brought you to the good ship lollypop a day too early.'

'Lucy…' Stephen walked like he was in a dream, a soft floating motion the felt so unreal it was impossible.

'Oh boy Steve my boy you have gone nutso.' William said. 'I hate to be the one to tell you this but you are having a conversation with two imaginary friends and they can't even see each other… so that makes one of us even more imaginary then the other. Steve?' William's voice was there but Stephen could not hear it, his whole being was focused completely on the specter of Lucy.

'Stephen why are you doing this?' Lucy sounded far away. 'That little girl was right; I would never want you to do something like this. It's wrong, like what I did when I drank. I know you Stephen, you are not a bad man and this is not your way. Please stop it before it's too late.'

'Stephen I don't know what that bitch is telling you but I have a damn good idea.' William looked in the void where Stephen seemed to be staring. 'Leave him woman, he is a lost one and so belongs to me. It's too late for anything to be done so be silent and let this world end.'

'It's never too late Stephen; the past can be changed if you know how.' Lucy said. 'Will you listen to him or to me Stephen, it's your choice.'

'The time is nearly on us, all you worked so hard for is coming down to this Stephen.' William now had lost all trace of accent in his voice; he was just the voice of the other now. He was Thanatos, and he would be heard. 'You were a hero once; you saved billions of lives and made the world better. And now it's about to come crashing down, all your good deeds finally destroyed and by your own hand no less. At the very end you became evil because you did not realize that what people remember matters nothing… only actions remain, and only they matter. What do you say to that Stephen?'

Stephen let go of the railing and looked at the ageless form of William Angelo and wondered how many times he had come like this. How many people had this form stood before and played its part, the part of the devil. William Angelo was apart of him, because the real William was a dead body probably still lying on the floor of Stephen's apartment.

'What do I say William?' Stephen smiled a true smile for the first time in an age. 'I say that last time pays for all you bastard!' Stephen then jumped over the railing just as he had done twenty-four years ago. William saw this and ran trying to stop him, making a sound no human could but was the very personification of the word "No". William had no chance of stopping this, Stephen was gone before he could reach out with his bone white hand and clutch at nothing but air. And even if he had been closer he was nothing but a memory, and when you walk out of the sea memories can never harm you.

Stephen jumped and entered the light once more. So it was history repeated its self, both the mistake and the answer. Then there was nothing, and it was good.

* * *

The world did not end, as is its want. The sun went down that night and the moon rose just as it had done for a billion years and just as it would happily do for another billion years. The girls did make it home and they did enjoy a moment of love, but it was not the last even if it might have been the purest. Eventually their powers came back and it was time to find out the truth. They went back to the factory and found out what had happened. Stephen was lying dead on the floor, the device now powerless. But that is all in the past, and that is finished with.

* * *

There is a grave in Townsville cemetery, a single white stone written on which is simply. 

"Stephen De-joule

Hero

Remembered"

**The end**

Author. Thank you for reading this story, and special thanks to Neo-Larry, Light Sneasel, Zero Unknown, Somewei, James of Vale and Jamie for your reviews. If anyone has any questions about this story please feel free to email me.

It should be noted the ending was not what I expected, it originally had William Angelo actually been Stephen De-joule. But I typed "William has been dead..." by mistake and that lead to this ending.

So what is next? Well I have that choice again, I could carry on this story line and see where it leads me, I could try a new story line or I could stop writing. Tell me what you think in your reviews.


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